she tastes like you, only sweeter
by missmanicmonday
Summary: Twenty years have passed since Audrey Parker suddenly disappeared from Haven, taking Nathan's heart as well as his hope of ending the Troubles permanently. The latest outbreak of the Troubles brings Lola Velasquez to town, seeking answers about her mysterious dreams about this small town in Maine. What she finds is nothing that any of them ever expected.
1. Chapter 1

**Notes: **Before you read the first chapter, here's a little explanation as to where I'm going with this story so there are no misconceptions. I know you're already skeptical, what with an OC listed as a main character.

The concept of this fic is to explore the mythos of Haven in my own way, to focus on the impact of Audrey's permanent and unexpected disappearance would have on Nathan based on the cliffhanger presented in the season 2 finale, and the far reaching consequences she had on those who knew her. My intent is to have Audrey present in an indirect way in this future setting, and have her play a main role in the past (present-day canon). Lola is there to help tell that story, as well as her own within this realm. My ultimate goal is to write an entertaining fic in the spirit of Haven and hopefully I'll achieve that.

This will not be canon compliant with Season 3. Not ever. Anything that happens to parallel what happens in season 3's storyline is pure coincidence. No, really. I planned the bulk of this fic in July and August and did not read or watch ANY spoilers. It drove me nuts every time I'd watch an episode. If you read on, you'll see what I mean.

And for those of you who are curious as to how I envision Lola, I picture her as Shay Mitchell (from Pretty Little Liars, just for reference), aged up about five years or so.

If you do happen to enjoy it, leave feedback. It makes me squeal. :D

* * *

**'she tastes like you, only sweeter'**

The old saying goes the more things change, the more they stay the same. Such was true with the small harbor town of Haven, the town that had lain on Maine's coast for more than three hundred and fifty years.

The past twenty years since the last outbreak of Troubles had been blessedly quiet. Nathan Wuornos had settled into the office of Chief of Police permanently after the demise of Chief Merrill, and things had settled into a more normal pace of life for the citizens.

Audrey Parker was gone. Not long after the last batch of Troubles had been combatted, she had disappeared without a trace. Local scuttlebutt speculated that she had been killed, though a few believed that she had simply moved on. Regardless of what happened to her, her legacy eventually faded from the town's memory and if asked, the name would garner a furrowed brow and a 'Who?'

But there had been indications that the Troubles were coming back. For one, Nathan had awakened one morning after a very trying case unable to feel anything again. The shift to his previous state had been a disconcerting experience, leaving him both angry and numb and stirring a number of rumors around the station about the sudden change in the Chief.

Whatever was happening, Nathan knew to brace himself for the coming onslaught. Things were about to get messy and confusing again in a very short span of time.

* * *

"I'm taking a trip, Dad," Lola Velasquez said over breakfast one morning, causing her father to set down his tablet and stare at his daughter in abject surprise. Lola resisted the urge to squirm under the piercing gaze, instead holding her own steady.

"What brought this on, niña?" Alejandro Velasquez asked his daughter carefully, his attention fully on her. "You haven't mentioned anything about this before. What about your job? It's not a good idea to just up and leave with all those kids with a new teacher right in the middle of the school year."

"I know, Dad. I know. I... I'm not sure how to explain it," Lola admitted, fumbling with her napkin. She knew exactly why she wanted to go, but detailing why was going to be sticky indeed. She didn't think her father would understand or accept her sudden decision to leave. The dreams had been coming much more frequently lately, until they invaded her subconscious multiple times a night. The pull was too much to ignore now. "I've been... seeing things."

"What about?" Her father looked alarmed and like he was trying not to demand answers. Instead he settled back into his chair and adopted an air of forced calm.

"I've been having dreams about this town in Maine called Haven," Lola explained, trying not to let her nerves get the best of her. Warning bells were going off in her head about the way her father was acting but she couldn't quite put her finger on why. "I... have questions that need answering. And I think I'm going to find them there."

"Questions that I can't answer?" her father asked her a little too sharply to be normal. "This is about your mother, isn't it?"

"So what if it is?" Lola's mouth compressed into a thin line. She hadn't expected this much resistance from her father. He normally supported anything she wanted to do.

"Lola," he sighed, pushing his hand through his hair. "I don't want you to go, but I can't stop you. But promise me if things get dangerous, you'll come home."

She wondered what could be so dangerous about a quiet little town such as Haven, but decided to humor her father. "I promise."

* * *

Lola looked out the tiny window of the plane as it touched down in Bangor, exhaling a breath as she closed the book she'd been reading. She couldn't quite believe she was here, so close to her destination. Her heart sped up slightly in her chest, trying not to let the details of what the next leg of her journey would entail overwhelm her. She would be meeting a Duke Crocker, who had graciously agreed to bring her to Haven. He'd been charming and polite over the phone, offering his services for anything she would need. What services she wasn't sure, but she'd thanked him all the same.

After retrieving her bags in baggage claim, she took a look around and her eyes fell upon a scruffy but neatly dressed fellow, one with a few years on him and who looked like he would be completely at home on a boat. Deciding to take her chances, she hefted her suitcase and approached him.

"Duke Crocker?" she inquired, giving him a warm smile.

The man in question gave her a smile in return, extending his hand. "At your service. You must be Miss Velasquez. You're even prettier in person."

"Still as much of a flatterer as you were on the phone," Lola countered, laughing. "Yes, I'm Regine Velasquez. Pleasure to finally meet you in person."

The decision to use her absent mother's middle name had been a carefully chosen one, calculated to obscure her real identity. Her research had indicated that Haven was a close-knit community, and the last thing she wanted was somebody poking into her business. What she was here for was for her and her alone. Not to mention it had the added benefit of burying any real results thanks to a very successful Filipino singer with an identical name.

"Well, Regine, shall we get going?" Duke smiled, hefting her bag from where she'd set it on the floor.

It was a short drive to Haven, and along the way Lola drank in the sights and the scenery, vastly preferring it to the flat plains of Ohio. She wasn't disappointed when they finally rolled into Haven, stopping at a place called The Grey Gull. The town, what little she had seen of it so far, was beautiful.

"Home sweet Haven," Duke grinned over at her, shutting the car off. "The apartment upstairs is all fixed up for you. Just stick a few knickknacks around the place or whatever and call it home."

"Thanks," Lola smiled at him and watched him haul her suitcase her out of the trunk. The sound of footsteps behind her caught her attention and she turned, regarding the man that was approaching with a healthy measure of curiosity. That was, until she caught sight of the badge hooked to his belt. Haven PD. Not even in town five minutes and already the cops were sniffing around her. Great, just what she needed.

* * *

The last thing Nathan expected to find when he'd heard Duke was picking something up was instead someone: a young, rather striking woman. Nevertheless, his track record with Duke had had him lingering in the general vicinity of the Gull beforehand; waiting to see just what it was that was being brought in.

As he approached cautiously with the intent of not startling her, the woman turned and a flash of curiosity followed by a blink-and-you'll-miss-it flash of dismay shot through her large brown eyes at the sight of him. She seemed to be of some sort of Hispanic descent, mid-twenties to early thirties. Despite her negative reaction to him, Nathan couldn't help but notice that she was absolutely gorgeous. Her hair fell in long, coffee-colored waves, lush full lips kissed by the barest hint of gloss. She was perfectly put together, natural but with a hint of polish.

"Duke," he nodded, and then turned his attention to the woman, who was still regarding him warily. "Nathan Wuornos, ma'am, Haven PD."

"_Chief_ Wuornos, you forgot to add that part," Duke smirked, and Nathan shot him a bemused look.

"Chief, hmm?" Lola's gaze sharpened, badly concealed distrust filling her eyes. "Well then, I'm honored. Just arrived and already I'm greeted by the top cop."

Nathan's eyes narrowed imperceptibly. This standoff almost reminded him of the one between himself and Audrey so long ago, minus the drawn weapons and the badges. Thinking about Audrey always brought a pang of longing, and he pushed that aside ruthlessly to focus on the woman in front of him. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss...?"

"Velasquez," she replied, offering him what looked to be a sweet but insincere smile. Nathan suppressed the urge to raise an eyebrow when she didn't offer her full name.

"You have a first name, Miss Velasquez?" His tone was friendly but underneath there was an unmistakable warning. _My town, my turf, my rules._

"Regine, as if it makes a difference." Lola continued giving him that same sweet smile, but it was clear that underneath the surface she was bristling. "Regine Velasquez."

Warning bells were going off in his head the longer he stood there. There was something very off about this lady, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it. He wasn't going to be distracted by a pretty face, especially not hers.

Lola merely raised an eyebrow when he stayed silent and kept the same sweet yet barbed expression on her face.

"Hey, let me help you with your bag," Duke offered, breaking the tension. He picked it up and tossed it at Nathan, who caught it and gave him a glower.

"Glad I could help," Nathan said dryly, carrying it up and setting it next to the door. Lola looked up with a surprised look, and then climbed the stairs to join Nathan on the landing. Giving him a long, suspicious look, she murmured a 'thanks' before she went inside.

"What do you know about this woman, Duke?" Nathan's face had twisted into a contemplative look, looking up where Lola had disappeared once he had rejoined Duke.

Duke gave Nathan a nonchalant shrug. "Not much. She looked me up, inquired about a place to stay in town and I offered her the apartment above the Gull when she mentioned being here for a while. Said she was doing some sort of research?" He scratched the back of his neck. "Dunno. She's easy on the eyes and long as she pays the rent on time, none of my business."

"Somehow I doubt that," Nathan said dryly, shaking his head at his longtime friend. She'd refused to give him her full name when she'd introduced herself and the first person she'd contacted in Haven was Duke. Neither instance spoke well of her so far. "You'll come sniffing around her; you always do when a pretty girl is involved."

"Why Nathan, I'm wounded," Duke said with a grin, putting his hand over his heart. "You know I'm much more of a gentleman than that."

Nathan coughed something that sounded very much like 'bullshit' and shot Duke another look. "You tell me if you pick up on anything unusual," he warned, and headed to his truck.

A short while later found Nathan in front of his computer. A Google search on her name brought up nothing. The first thing that had popped up was a Filipino singer. The name might be legitimate, he'd give her that, but it wasn't hers. Not by a long shot. Something about it just screamed cover-up to him; it was just too obvious. Further searching turned up absolutely nothing; it was like she didn't exist. He'd have to go deeper but first, he'd have to get further information about this mysterious woman first. He knew just who to ask.

Picking up the phone, he dialed Duke's cell. "Hey, Duke," he said when the other man picked up. "Where did you say our Miss Velasquez was from?"

"Ohio?" Duke replied, sounding confused. "Kent, Ohio? Something like that. Why?"

"No reason," Nathan said. "Thanks, Duke." He hung up the phone, and turned back to his computer. A smirk appeared on his lips as he imagined the sort of look that would be on Duke's face now. More than likely he'd be staring at his phone wondering just what the hell had just happened.

Turning back to the computer, he plugged in his data, using the age range he thought Miss Velasquez would fall under. He began his search with birth records in Kent, widening the search to nearby Cuyahoga Falls and Akron. But it was indeed in Kent that he hit pay dirt.

"Found you," he murmured to himself. Regine was actually one Maribel Dolores Velasquez, age thirty-one, born to Alejandro Miguel Velasquez and Miranda Regine Harper. Well, that explained where she'd gotten her alias from.

Not surprisingly, she had no arrest record, not even a parking or speeding ticket to her name. So she was a liar, but at least she wasn't a liar that broke the law. She had also been formerly employed as a kindergarten teacher at Franklin Elementary in Kent, Ohio and held a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education from Kent State. Funny, he hadn't taken her for the teacher type.

He pondered how to go about confronting her, tapping a pencil on his desk. It was doubtful she would have given Duke legitimate contact information other than her city and state, if she were that desperate to cover up her identity. He didn't have enough probable cause to subpoena information like her cell records or other personal data. So the only way to get a hold of her would to be to go to her, rather than try and bring her to him.

He drove back to the Grey Gull, parking where he'd just been a mere couple of hours ago. Climbing the stairs, he knocked on the door.

* * *

Once inside, Lola had breathed a sigh of a relief. What was it about that cop? The Chief, her mind had supplied, and she winced. That wasn't smart, smarting off to the head honcho. But she hadn't been able to help it. He'd immediately put her on the defensive, pushing where he didn't belong. Really, was her luck that bad?

But wow, was he good looking. Rugged with a strong jaw, a dent in his chin that she wanted to trace with her thumb. Blue eyes she could find herself staring into and getting lost in. Lips that she wanted to tug on gently with her teeth and taste until they were both breathless. The silvering at his temples only added to his attractiveness as well.

She bit her lip, trying not to let herself carried away. He was a cop, and it would definitely a bad idea to get involved with him in any way given her current mission.

She tried to push all those thoughts away as she started to settle in to her new place, hanging up clothes in the closet and putting them into dressers. The place was rustic, charming, but a little bare besides the basics. She'd have to remedy that.

Making a mental note to ask Duke about getting internet in here after a longing look at her laptop bag, she settled in with her book and shut out the rest of the world until there was a knock at the door.

Thinking it was to Duke again come to check on her, Lola went to answer it. To her dismay, it was exactly the last person she wanted to see. "Nathan Wuornos, ma'am. We met earlier."

"I remember. Come in," Lola invited, when all she wanted to do was slam the door in his face. "It's sparse, but then again I haven't had the time to fully settle in yet. Coffee?"

Nathan gave her a half smile. "I'll pass, thanks," he told her, and continued to stay standing even after she took a seat.

"So what can I help you with, Chief Wuornos?" Lola asked politely, folding her hands in her lap. She was the very picture of calm and composed even though her stomach was churning warningly.

"Nathan's fine," he corrected her. "I was hoping that you could clear up a few things," he said, resting his hand on his hip casually. The action brought his weapon clearer into her line of sight.

"Like?" Lola prompted him. The churning in her stomach ramped up a notch and she gave an uneasy glance at the gun. If he was trying to unbalance her, he was doing a fine job of it.

"Well, you could start with how you lied to me about your name," he began, a hard glint in his eye. "What do you have to hide, Maribel?"

At the use of her given name, Lola rose and crossed her arms. "It's Lola," she corrected him, not bothering to hide the anger starting to flood her face. This guy was really pissing her off with his digging. She knew he was a cop and would be suspicious of a new face, but did he have to vet every person that came to town? It felt insulting. "I don't answer to Maribel."

"Okay, Lola," he said mildly, and the way he said it suggested that he was testing it, deciding how it fit the woman in front of him. "Answer my question."

"Well, first things first, I didn't lie," Technically, she had, a lie of omission was still a lie. But she wasn't going to admit to it that quickly. Still, she was disappointed that her cover hadn't held up as well as she'd hoped. "I was protecting my identity. A small town like Haven, everyone knows your business. And I wanted mine kept quiet." Lola stared him down, making it clear she wasn't going to let this cop intimidate her.

The expression on Nathan's face didn't alter an iota as he stood his ground. "Okay. Why did you need to protect your identity from me?"

Lola didn't bother to curb her irritation or her tone. "You of all people should be able to answer that question."

Nathan crossed his arms, mirroring her pose. "It's my job. Why did you come to Haven?" So, he wasn't going to be satisfied until he'd had every bit of information squeezed out of her, it seemed. That rankled her big time.

"I want answers," she shot back. "And until I'm ready to tell you more, you'll have to content yourself with that answer." That was as much as she was going to give him. It was the truth, even if it did sound like a weak argument even to her ears.

"Fair enough. Just try not to keep 'protecting' your identity with me." It was clearly a warning, and even though she might not like it, she accepted it. His turf, after all, not hers. But his tone implied that he would be straight with her as well and Lola appreciated the honesty.

"So, uh... would you like to go for pancakes? I think we got off on the wrong foot and I'd like to fix that." Suddenly he looked a little nervous, the confident cop replaced with an awkward man fumbling for the right words to ask a girl out.

Lola blinked. The complete one eighty in the conversation was disconcerting, but he was holding out an olive branch. She would be heartless if she didn't accept. She let a teasing smile curve her lips. "Do you take many girls out to have pancakes, Nathan?" she asked him sweetly, the sentiment not faked this time.

"No, but I eat a lot of pancakes," and his lips twisted into a small smirk. It was rather attractive on him, Lola thought, immediately giving herself a stern scolding at the stray thought.

But instead of giving away her thoughts, she laughed and gave him a smile. A real, genuine smile. Something shifted in Nathan's eyes at the sight of it.

"Shall we?" he said, gesturing to the door.

* * *

She was charming when she wasn't trying to warn people off, Nathan decided after he'd dropped Lola off at her apartment. She'd given him another one of those genuine smiles as she was waving goodbye, the edges of her eyes crinkling up cutely. Cute was a good word to describe her, he thought. Cute, sweet, and rather attractive.

But it was taking all of him to not dwell on what had happened on the way out of the restaurant.

"I enjoyed myself," Lola had said warmly, smiling up at him. "It's funny, because just a few hours ago I really didn't like you."

"Is that so?" Nathan asked, smirking. "They say first impressions are everything. Guess your second impression convinced you otherwise."

"If that's what you want to call it," Lola laughed. "Thank you, Nathan. I feel like I've been officially welcomed and it means a lot. Thank you." She reached for his hand and squeezed it briefly, her thumb caressing over his before pulling away.

As soon as their skin came into contact, electricity shot up his arm, his skin tingled, and it was all he could do to keep his expression and posture neutral and his breathing under control. Longing welled up inside him, and it was all he could do to not reach over and take her hand again. His hand clenched into a brief fist, quelling the desire to do so.

He could feel her. He could _feel _her. Just like Audrey.

He'd looked down at her and gave her a full smile, this one reaching his eyes. Surprise flared in hers, but she returned it.

Ah, screw it. He was dwelling. How couldn't he, after it had been so long?

He sat in his truck, staring at his hand as the other rubbed the spot she had touched, fingers gliding over the skin. He couldn't feel his own touch, obviously. But he replayed the moment over and over in his head, remembering just how soft her hand had been in his, how she'd stroked his thumb ever so tenderly.

Just a touch and already he wanted more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter summary:** _The dreams didn't stop even after Lola left Ohio. Nathan can't escape Audrey, no matter how hard he tries to ignore her impact on his life._

**Notes:** Formatting can bite me. Anyhow, thanks so far for the favs and the follows and the nice reviews. :) They are very much appreciated.

And as always: Not canon compliant with Season 3.

* * *

Lola settled into the mattress with a contented sigh, turning her head and burying her cheek into the brand-new pillow with another happy little sigh. She'd have to thank Duke later for making sure she had the basic necessities before she'd even arrived, which had included linens and a rather comfortable bed.

She was tired. Traveling had taken a lot out of her, never mind the confrontation with Nathan and the impromptu lunch date after. Who ate pancakes for lunch? She didn't know. But it was a cute little quirk she liked about him. Come to think of it, there was a lot she liked about Nathan.

She'd just met the guy and he had more than a few years on her, so why on earth was she even having these thoughts about him?

Reaching over the nightstand, she turned off the light, pulling the covers tighter over her and rolling onto her side. She'd dwell on those things after a good night's rest.

* * *

_"Hey, spill it. You didn't say one word on the ride over and even for you that's quiet."_

_"Ah, it's nothing, I'm fine."_

_"No, what's wrong? Is Jess okay?"_

_"She's fine. She left."_

_"She left?"_

_"Not coming back."_

_"Ugh, Nathan. I am so... so sorry."_

_"Bound to happen sometime."_

_The silence stretched out between the two, with the blond woman breaking the silence after a few moments._

_"Hey, uh... you know that whole friends thing? You were right, I... I don't think I ever really had any." Things came into sharper focus as the blond woman paused. "But I do now." He was staring off into the distance but he could hear the conviction in her voice as she spoke. "And so do you." She used his shoulder to brace herself as she leaned up, pressing a kiss to his cheek. She lingered there for a beat before pulling away and walking around the back of the truck._

_His eyes closed briefly as she kissed him and for a moment his mind blanked as his nerves, his supposedly dead nerves, suddenly came to life. He brought his hand up to his face, fingers lightly digging into his cheek, expression shifting from stoic to incredulous in the blink of an eye. He turned and stared after her, hand still pressed his face as he struggled to comprehend what had just occurred._

_Then joy flooded him and a smile bloomed over his face, wonderment exploding through him like fireworks and dissipating as quickly as it came. He let out a short, silent laugh and his eyes softened, still in a state of mild disbelief. Fingers half-clenched, he hesitated a second before he dropped his hand from his face, his heart still racing. Taking a moment to gather himself, he swallowed and looked over his shoulder when he heard the door slamming behind him. Turning to face the open window of his truck, he blinked a few times as he stared with a gently furrowed brow at the blond, now sitting in the passenger seat and completely unaware of the emotions she had invoked in her partner. He glanced out towards the road and then back at her, seeing her now in a brand-new light. His entire world had just shifted with one simple kiss. _

_Schooling himself into his normal countenance, he hauled himself up into the passenger seat and started the truck._

* * *

The next dream followed close on the heels of the last one, crashing into her brain hard.

_He dangled the rose in front of his face, letting it graze the tip of his nose and inhaling its scent. Running it over his lips and chin, he enjoyed the soft whisper of petals against the sensitive skin. Next to him, the blond clicked her phone off, exhaling and then turning to him to rattle off some information on their latest case._

_He listened to her with half an ear, more focused on the rose he held. Who knew that such a feeling could be so titillating? But he made sure he answered her, pulling the rose away from his face so it didn't impede his speech. He brought it back up when he finished speaking, enjoying the tingling that emanated from his nerves as he stimulated the skin again._

_Suddenly the silence felt stifling and he glanced over to his partner, only to see her staring at him with a strange expression._

_He pulled it away again, giving her this 'Really?' look. "Did you know the skin on your lips is the most sensitive on your entire body?" he offered as explanation, hoping she'd take it._

_"Okay, you're kinda starting to weird me out."_

_"Still... getting used to this... whole... feeling thing," he admitted, glancing over at her. She merely waited him out._

_"Back when you—" and he gestured to the side of his face, pressed two fingers to it, "kissed my cheek, that was the first time in years that I felt another person's touch." He paused. "I hope you didn't feel too weird about it."_

_"Why would I feel weird?"_

_He gave a little nod, feeling relieved. "Exactly."_

* * *

Across town Nathan whimpered in his sleep, legs twisting in the sheets and tears leaking down his face as a memory that wasn't his assaulted his mind.

The landscape was unfamiliar, the people equally so. But those eyes... he'd seen those dark eyes somewhere before.

_The little girl was delicate, long dark brown hair tied back with a pink ribbon at the nape of her neck. Her dress matched her ribbon, a simple affair with a dirt stain on the hem. Tears poured from large, liquid brown eyes, tracks of them already having dried on bronze cheeks._

_"Mama," the little girl wailed, fists balled and her bottom lip trembling as she stood in the middle of the sidewalk. "Mama, Mama, where Mama?"_

_The man that accompanied her was dressed in a rumpled suit; his tie looking like it had been balled up in the back of the closet for an eternity. "Niña," he said desperately, kneeling down and attempting to draw the girl into his arms. "Niña, cielita, don't cry. I've got you. I'm here. Daddy's here."_

_"Want. MAMA!" the little girl screamed, throwing herself down to the sidewalk and skinning her knees. The man's eyes glistened with tears, and when he attempted to pull her close a second time, the girl collapsed into his arms, sobbing hysterically._

_"Lola," he whispered into her hair, cradling his little girl tenderly as his own tears stained her hair. "Mama's not here... but Daddy always will be."_

_Sunshine glinted off of blond hair before a woman, partially hidden behind a building and had been watching the whole scene play out, turned and slipped away._

* * *

He woke with a start, heart aching and tears in his eyes, pulse racing and breathing rapid and shallow.

Pulling himself to a sitting position, he closed his eyes and let the tears roll down his cheeks as he struggled to regain his composure. The dream had been so vivid, so fraught with emotion that it overwhelmed him, invaded him. He wasn't ever overly emotional but this had taken him by storm and held him in a vice grip.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and battled to slow his breathing, willed his heartbeat to return to normal, his head buried in his hands.

The dream took its sweet time bleeding away from his consciousness, leaving him with a sick feeling in his stomach. He raised his head and checked the time, as it was still very dark outside. The clock read 3:35am, several hours before his alarm would go off.

Was the same little girl in his dream the same woman he'd met just yesterday? The man had called her Lola, and her features had been very similar to the young woman in question, right down to the eyes. But he hesitated to jump to that conclusion just yet. It could be mere coincidence; his work had definitely taught him that.

But more importantly, why had Audrey appeared in that dream?

He sighed and slid back under the sheets, willing himself to drift off again. He could think about all of this later.

But the universe clearly wasn't on his side, because he hadn't been able to sleep the rest of the night. He dragged himself into the station, fighting the urge to rub at his burning eyes. God, he felt like hell. He hadn't had a night like that in years.

But he'd decided one thing while he'd been watching the clock tick away the minutes. He needed to revisit a ghost from the past, something that always seemed to crop up along with the Troubles.

No matter how much he tried to ignore her influence, Audrey had come back to haunt them.

He picked up the phone, dialing the unfamiliar number that had been scrawled on a napkin at the diner yesterday. "Lola?" he said when she picked up. "It's Nathan."

"Good morning," her voice greeted him, sounding tired. He suppressed the urge to ask what was wrong and instead focused on his task. "Something the matter?"

"No, everything's fine. But if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd like for you to come down to the station. You said you're looking for answers, I'm hoping to provide a few." He didn't know why he was offering help to this stranger, but something inside him felt compelled despite it all.

"Oh," Lola replied, surprise evident in her voice. "Well then, I'll be down as soon as possible."

He thanked her, and then set the phone back in its cradle. Glancing over at the couch in his office, he warred with his conscience before giving in. He was exhausted. He needed a little more sleep and by the sound of things, Lola was going to take a while to get going. He needed a clearer head if he was going to be delving back into the past.

He didn't know how long he'd been sleeping before a patrolman was knocking at his office door, startling him out of his nap. "Hey, Chief? A Lola Velasquez is here to see you." The officer seemed like he wanted to add something, but instead thought better of it and simply nodded before heading off.

Stretching, he worked the ache out of his limbs before standing. Running a hand through his hair, he ambled his way out into hallway, where Lola was waiting with her hands clasped behind her back and her head bowed. Despite looking as neat and put together as she could be, a cloud of exhaustion hung over her head.

He stopped at the coffee station and poured two coffees, holding one out to Lola as he approached. "Rough night?" he asked, his tone kind. Well, as kind as he got.

Lola's head snapped up and she smiled at him, though it was a weary smile. "You... You could say that."

"Must be going around. Coffee?"

"Please." She accepted the mug gratefully. She lifted it to her lips, but let it hover there, steam rising from the cup and warming her lips before she lowered it slightly. "Did you know the skin on your lips is the most sensitive on your entire body?" she asked out of the blue, eyes rising to his with a strange look glittering in them. She then brought the mug back up again, and winced after sipping cautiously at it. "Too hot still."

It was all Nathan could do to keep his eyes from widening and keep a steady grip on his own mug. "S-Someone might have mentioned it," he managed, lowering his mug before taking a sip. He'd said those very same words to Audrey years ago. How could she have echoed them so perfectly?

Something must have shown, because Lola looked at him strangely, frowning. "What's the matter?" she asked with concern evident in her voice.

"N-Nothing." He was embarrassed by how he'd stumbled over the word, but he was definitely feeling off balance today.

Lola's eyes narrowed over her mug. "I don't believe you," she stated flatly, staring him down.

An awkward chuckle slipped out despite him. She was certainly bold and he liked that about her. Reminded him of another person he once knew. "Well, shall we?" He gestured towards his office, trying to save some semblance of face. He was the Chief, dammit; he needed to start acting like it instead of this damn awkward schoolboy.

"Lead the way," Lola's look morphed into a smile, gesturing with the coffee mug.

Nathan led her back to his office, taking in what he always did when he entered the room: Audrey's empty desk, the same as it had been since the day she disappeared from Haven. He felt his heart contract with longing, and he squeezed his eyes shut briefly. Lola was behind him so thankfully, she didn't see the slip in his expression.

"Have a seat," he invited her, and she lowered herself into a chair primly. It was such juxtaposition from the way she was yesterday that he found it a bit amusing.

"What?" Lola asked, sounding confused.

Was he really that transparent to her? Nathan wondered. He settled for a half-smile. "You were practically in my face yesterday and here you are, sitting primly as a schoolmarm." He was deliberately baiting her, seeing if she'd open up to him and offer more information about herself.

"Funny you should say that, I'm a teacher," Lola offered with a laugh, the look melting into one of bemusement when she took in Nathan's neutral expression. "You knew that already."

"It came up in the search I did on you yesterday," Nathan replied. "Your credentials, your degree." He paused. "Your parents."

Immediately Lola looked edgy, and he hated having to push her like that. But in their conversation yesterday at the diner, she'd mentioned her father several times but nothing of her mother. He sensed that was one of the questions plaguing her. It was plaguing him, at least, as the dream washed over him again.

"What about them?" It was obvious Lola was trying to keep a lid on her temper. "Is this another trap? Like the confrontation yesterday?"

"No," Nathan said, resting his elbows on the desk and leaning towards her. "But you said you wanted answers. There... there was someone I once knew that had a similar question." He really hated bringing up Audrey, but it was the only thing he could think of. "It didn't turn out as she hoped, but maybe you'll find what you're looking for."

"Okay," Lola drew the word out, cautiously and warily. "So where do I start?"

"I was thinking the Haven Herald. If you happen to be related to anyone here, they can help trace your roots back. They keep the most complete archives on Haven history, even more than the local library. It's run by an Eden Novelli, who took over from the Teagues brothers when they passed on. I can give you the address."

"Okay," Lola said again, nodding and looking the slightest bit hopeful. It helped to lift the fugue over him incrementally, seeing it. "I appreciate that. But you could have told me this over the phone, you know."

"Well, I wanted to ask you about this," Nathan explained, opening a drawer and pulling out a photo of Audrey. He could have shown her the one on the corner of his desk, but he felt that one was too personal to share. "Have you ever seen this woman?"

Lola's face looked a little sad as she picked up the photo and it piqued his curiosity. But she set it back down, shook her head. "I can't say she looks familiar. I'm sorry."

"Are you sure? You looked like you recognized her," he pressed.

"I was just thinking she looks so lost in that photo," Lola told him, raising her eyes to his. Nathan met them squarely and again he was hit by just how much they'd resembled the little girl's. His heart seized in sympathy again.

"How do you mean?"

"You don't see it?" Lola picked up the photo again, pointed. "Her eyes."

Nathan's suspicions were definitely aroused at this point, but pressing even further would definitely have damaging consequences. "I'll take your word for it."

"Who is she, anyway?" Lola asked, curiously.

"My old partner. She left awhile back, haven't heard from her since." He didn't know why on earth he was sharing, because of how personal it was, how deeply the wounds ran. But something about Lola compelled him to share this. "It was a long shot. No big deal."

"I'm from Ohio," Lola's smile was a touch amused. "Ohio's a long way from Maine, you know."

"Right," Nathan agreed, letting out a small huff of a laugh. It had been a wild, ridiculous supposition. "Right. If I think of anything else, I'll call you."

"Thanks again," Lola smiled warmly at him. Nathan stood and came around the desk, coming to stand next to her. "And thanks again for the coffee." She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek, giving him a coy smile then turning and exiting the office.

Nathan watched her go, silently. Once she was out of sight he closed his eyes and cupped his cheek, another wave of longing swamping him and leaving him almost breathless. Just a few seconds more, his heart pleaded for silently. Just a few seconds more. That's all he wanted.

* * *

"Welcome to the Haven Herald," the girl at the desk greeted Lola cheerfully when she walked through the door. "Anything I can help you with?"

"I'm looking for an Eden Novelli?" Lola inquired, giving the lady a friendly smile. She looked like the friendly type, with dark blond hair skinned back in a ponytail and wide brown eyes. She was in jeans, an artsy tunic in a watercolor print falling to her thighs, belled sleeves fluttering with every movement.

"That's me!" the girl – Eden, Lola's mind corrected – confirmed, coming around the desk to offer her hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Lola Velasquez," Lola introduced herself, shaking Eden's hand. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance as well."

"So, Lola, what can the Herald do for you?" Eden asked, taking her chair again and motioning to one in front of her desk, which Lola took.

"Nathan Wuornos sent me here, said you could help me in helping me find any ties I might have to Haven," Lola explained.

"Oh, Chief Wuornos! Great guy. Definitely sent you in the right direction," Eden all but chirped. "So, shoot some names at me. We're technically a newspaper but all the editors seemed obsessed with the genealogy of this town. A blessing and a curse, really."

Lola laughed; she'd already taken a liking to Eden. "Well, I doubt you'd find a Velasquez or a Garza, as those are my great-grandparents on my father's side and they came from Mexico. But you might want to try Kelly or Moore, as those were my grandmother's."

Eden popped in the search terms and then leaned back in her chair, waiting for the results. "So I've not seen you around here before," she said, making casual conversation.

Lola let out a light laugh. "No, I'm definitely not a local. I grew up in Ohio. But my father told me that some of our history ties back to this town, he just couldn't tell me through whom. More than likely my paternal grandmother would be my guess."

Eden raised a brow at the computer as the first of the search results began to pop up. "I'd say your instincts are spot on," she commented, scrolling. "One hit for a Moore who married into the Teagues, but a bunch for Kelly. I'd say that's your best bet right there. I'll print this info out for you."

"Guess I'll be making a call to my grandmother tonight and getting some names," Lola smiled, hope filling her. "Oh, also, can you do a search on the last name Harper?" It was a long shot, as she didn't have any real data on her mother, but she at least had to try.

Eden's hands flew over the keyboard. A few seconds later her mouth twisted into a frown. "Sorry, Lola," she said, looking sincerely apologetic. "Not a single hit."

"Well, it was worth a try," Lola sighed, disappointed.

"Someone close to you?" Eden inquired, and then immediately looked contrite. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pry. It's just that you looked so sad." Despite running a newspaper, Lola sensed Eden didn't seem like much of a gossip and that her concern was genuine.

"It's my mother's last name," Lola admitted, going with her gut feeling that she could trust the other woman. "I grew up not knowing her. I was hoping that she has ties to Haven too. Call it... a hunch." She wasn't about to mention the dreams, no matter how trustworthy Eden seemed. She didn't want to share any of that if she could help it.

"Oh, I get those all the time," Eden said, laughing. "And when they pan out, they're awesome." She fetched the papers out of the printer and handed them to Lola. "So, I'm about to grab lunch. Wanna come with?"

"I'd love to," Lola laughed, feeling like she had the beginnings of her first friend in Haven. It was a good feeling indeed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter summary:** _It's not Haven without Troubles popping up._

* * *

"So, seems we've got ourselves a case of vehicular manslaughter, boss," one of the officers remarked, following behind Nathan as they ducked under the yellow tape. "But here's the thing... the guy that hit the victim claims it was a cat."

"A cat?" Nathan's eyebrow raised, but after countless years as a cop here in Haven, nothing surprised him anymore. A guy having been a cat, yeah, he could believe it.

"We've taken what looks to be cat hairs off the tires. But there's definitely a body instead of a cat." The offer looked perplexed, and Nathan couldn't blame him. But if he didn't think the Troubles were back before, this was definitely a clear indicator.

He walked over to the body, took note of the tire tracks marring the skin and clothing of the victim and the grotesque way his entire chest was crushed. "We got an ID on him yet?"

"ID found on the victim identifies him as a Jake Cooper, age 47. I recognize the name; he owns the cafe on Benton Street." The officer looked up from his notepad. "Last guy he was seen talking with was Duke."

Nathan let out a mental groan. Of course Duke would get tied up in this. Of course. "Guess I'll be making a visit to a certain someone today."

"Should I apologize for you ahead of time, boss?" the officer laughed, then shut up under Nathan's withering stare. "Right. I'll finish up the body so we can pack him off to the morgue."

"You do that," Nathan muttered, opening the door and swinging himself up into his truck. Before he could drive off, however, his radio went off.

"Nathan, honey? There's a call for you to assist on an animal neglect complaint. 852 Dunley Avenue, Mrs. Kay Ward."

"Mrs. Ward?" Nathan's voice held a disbelieving note. This day was just getting weirder and weirder. "Okay, thanks Laverne."

"Anytime, sugar."

Ten minutes later he was pulling up in front of the residence, killing the engine. An officer stood on the porch along with a short redhead, the woman gesticulating wildly.

"There a problem here, Frank?" he greeted his officer as her strode up the steps, and the woman rounded on him immediately as soon as he was within striking distance.

"You get my mother to see some sense!" she hollered, jabbing a finger into Nathan's chest. He stared her down, unimpressed already with her behavior. "Do you hear me? Sense!"

The officer on call looked embarrassed. "Ms. Layton here called us out here with an animal neglect complaint," he explained and started to explain further when the redhead — Ms. Layton — cut him off.

"All those cats have completely overrun her home, and she can barely take care of herself much less them!" She was indignant, her face going ruddy with exertion.

"Calm down, ma'am, there's no need to be hostile," Nathan said flatly. "Can you explain why you made the call?"

"I've been trying to get my mother to move in with me for several months now, and she's been flat-out refusing because she's so damn attached to her cats. Says that she can't bear to give any away or send them to the shelter." Ms. Layton crossed her arms. "She's lost her mind. There's at least twenty in there, if not more."

While he might not have cared for her attitude or her reasoning, he had to concede that point. Mrs. Ward was a sweet old lady but more than twenty cats posed a hazard. "Let's talk to your mother and see if we can—"

"Poppy!" A rusty, hoarse voice with a surprising amount of power behind it came from the front door, and a very elderly lady with white hair and rheumy but piercing blue eyes hobbled out. "Poppy, you stop harassing those nice officers right now! I raised you better than that!"

_Poppy?_ The officer mouthed to Nathan behind Ms. Layton's back when she was turned. Nathan simply shrugged.

"Mrs. Ward?" Nathan stepped forward. "We need to see if what your daughter is claiming is true. If there are too many cats, then they have to be taken care of. It's a serious charge, but if you just agree to have them taken to the shelter, we can avoid that."

"Those monsters will kill my cats!" Mrs. Ward's voice was now as indignant as her daughter's had been. "I don't care about some stupid charge! I take good care of my babies! You can't take my babies from me!"

"The shelter will do its best to find all of them good homes," Nathan tried to assure her, thinking that if he could feel one he'd definitely have a headache coming on.

"Mom, just let the officers do their job. They're not going to hurt your cats," Poppy pleaded. "They're just trying to help."

"They can help by getting off my property and leaving me alone!" the old lady hollered back, the 'nice officers' comment apparently thrown to the wayside.

"We're going to need more backup," Nathan murmured to his fellow officer. "And come back another day when she's not quite as worked up. She'll be a hindrance otherwise."

"Wise idea, boss," the officer answered him.

* * *

_"I have one more gift for you, niña," the man told his daughter, a wide grin stretching over his face. Wrapping paper littered the living room, a gaily decorated Christmas tree sat in one corner with brightly colored lights adorning it. Presents were stacked in another corner, Barbies and new outfits and books among the gifts. "But I couldn't put it in a box."_

_"Really, Daddy?" the girl squealed, joy filling her wide brown eyes. "What is it? What is it?" She jumped up and down, excitement just rolling off of her._

_"You stay here, cielita, and I'll go get it," the man promised her, and it looked like it was taking everything the little girl had in her not to run after him._

_"Hurry, Daddy, hurry!" the girl urged him, practically writhing with impatience._

_"I'm coming, I'm coming," the man laughed, coming back into the room with a Golden Retriever puppy, his eyes a little scared but his tiny tail wagging._

_"A puppy!" The girl could barely contain her happiness, and she started to run towards the pair when her father held up a hand._

_"Careful now, he's a little jumpy," he cautioned her. "He's just a baby, Lola. You have to approach him slowly or you'll scare him. You don't want to do that when he's just getting to know you."_

_Sedately Lola walked over to the puppy, and reached out a tentative hand to pet him. "Hi puppy," she said softly. "You're so pretty. We're going to be good friends, right?"_

_The puppy let out a whine and nudged her hand. Lola giggled, looking up at her daddy._

_"I love him, Daddy," she beamed. "It's the best Christmas present ever."_

* * *

_"It's perfect, right? We work together, I get to screw Stoney, and you get to bust a counterfeiter."_

_"So your plan is to... use me."_

_"Come on, Nathan! We both come out ahead here. And as an added cherry on top, I live long enough to help you with James's boat."_

_"If you're... telling me the truth."_

_"It's the truth. Trust me."_

_Nathan's ire began to rise rapidly after Duke told him to trust him. Oh, he didn't trust the guy, not a single bit. He was suddenly driven to slap Duke's claim back in his face, and he deliberately changed the subject. "Do you remember third grade?" he asked, brow furrowing as he stared Duke down._

_Duke looked thrown and a little confused by the change of subject. "I remember that you really liked The Pet Shop Boys."_

_"Spring." He bit the word off. "You waited inside for me, with, uh, a bunch of your friends after gym class—" Sadness began to flood him as he began to recall, the hurt from all those years ago still stinging, still raw._

_"Okay..." Duke's expression morphed into something along the lines of 'oh my god, really? This is what we're going to talk about?'_

_Nathan kept talking, determined to make his point. "—smiling, congratulating me—"_

_"Do we have to do this right now?" Duke's irritation and eagerness to dismiss the subject in a hurry was written clearly on his face._

_"Yep." Nathan's reply was succinct as he stared Duke down with an intense expression._

_"Okay. Okay. I, I— I told you that Carla Rose had a crush on you."_

_"I felt like I won the lottery." The anger that had been building up began to boil over, nearly snarling his words at Duke._

_"Nathan, that was twenty-five years ago!"_

_"You all slapped me on the back, remember that?' Go talk to her, talk to her.'" The words were just tumbling out of him at this point, adamant that Duke would know what the bullying had done to him; what he'd suffered through just for a cheap laugh. "I walked down the hall, and I got up to her and I felt like my heart was beating out of my chest. I finally open my mouth enough to actually tell her that I liked her too..."_

_"She screamed." Duke's voice was quiet and he couldn't even look Nathan in the eye._

_"Screamed because there was blood dripping down my back." He paused to give his words further gravity. "From?" He was determined to make Duke relive every uncomfortable moment._

_"The tacks... that we stuck in it." He knew he had Duke when he threw his hands up in the air and conceded that yeah, they were going to go there._

_"When you were—" and he made finger quotes. "'Congratulating' me." He was staring Duke down and Duke looked like he was in pain from rehashing the experience. "You, uh, had a pool going on how many you could stick in my back before I noticed."_

_Duke looked contrite as he raised his beer to his lips. "Sixteen."_

_"Sixteen." He repeated it, emphasizing it._

_Duke set the bottle down, seemed to consider his words before opening his mouth again. _

_"Hmm." Yeah, he'd backed him into a corner and he grudgingly admitted to himself that it felt good._

_"Nathan, if it wasn't for me, you never would have even talked to her." True to Duke, he decided to try to work an angle that that made him come out on top._

_"I didn't talk to another girl for two years after that!" He shoved it back in Duke's face, indignant that Duke would be this much of an ass. But why was he surprised, really?_

_"I was eight years old!"_

_"Ah... So was I." He shoved that back in his face with relish. The asshole._

_"And so what?"_

_"So what." As per usual, they were at a stalemate; neither of them getting ahead. But again, that was never a surprise. It was simply the nature of his relationship with Duke Crocker._

_"You think I should die for that?"_

_"Well..."_

* * *

Lola woke confused and unsettled. What on earth had she just seen? She'd seen bits and pieces of Nathan's life over the past few weeks, some of them significant milestones and others as simple as how he'd felt walking in the woods. But this was the first time she'd seen Duke in a dream.

Seeing the animosity between the two, Nathan's burning need to lash out and hurt Duke as much as he'd hurt when he was a child, Lola's heart ached for him. Both of them, because despite his shady nature and penchant to flirt with her any time the opportunity presented itself, Duke seemed like a decent enough guy.

But it also brought up more questions. Why had Nathan reacted that way? Wouldn't he have felt the tacks? Something just didn't add up, and Lola couldn't exactly put her finger on what.

* * *

"Aren't you a sweetheart?" Lola cooed at the tiny little kitten who mewed plaintively at her, then snatched her hand back when the kitten attacked her. "Ouch!"

"Watch that one, he's feisty," the shelter worker commented, cleaning a litter box a few feet where Lola was crouching. "He was brought in with a litter two days ago. They're all feisty, spirited things actually. Strangely, none of them look anything alike. I've never seen anything like it." The shelter worker looked around the room, which was completely overrun with felines. "We've gotten an unusual amount of strays coming in, and it's been tough to make sure most of them get adopted."

Lola stood up and eyed the kittens uneasily. "Maybe I should look into a dog instead," she stated, turning to leave the room and nearly running into right into the person that had come up behind her unawares. "Nathan," she said with a measure of surprise, looking up and meeting his eyes. He was close, almost too close. She could smell the faint scent that was him, and a blush rose to her cheeks just thinking about it.

"Lola," he greeted her, a smile lighting his eyes as he greeted her.

"Not exactly the first place I'd expect to run into you," she said with a laugh, the two of them both taking a step back to establish proper personal space after a few awkward seconds.

"Following some leads for a case. Are you looking into getting a pet?" he asked, the same smile starting to turn his lips up, his gaze warming considerably.

"Maybe," she gave him a shy smile in return. "It's lovely around here, but it does get a little lonely at night when it's just me."

"The dogs are that way—" and Nathan gestured to a door in the back, "—and I heard they have several good ones just waiting to be adopted." The movement revealed a large bandage on the palm of his hand, and Lola frowned seeing it.

"Are you okay?" she indicated the injury, but didn't make a move to touch it.

"Burned my hand, no big deal," he shrugged.

Lola started to reply but several officers came in hauling pet carriers with at least two to three cats in each one. "That's a lot of cats," she said with wide eyes.

Nathan held up a finger, and then left her to inspect the carriers. "Rest of them on their way?" he asked one of the officers, who nodded.

"Mrs. Ward was none too happy, but we got them all," he replied. "Might want to be careful, boss, she's outside and looks like she wants to give you a piece of her mind."

"I'll handle her," Nathan assured them, then looked back over to Lola. "Lola," he nodded, and then disappeared outside.

She knew it was impolite, but instead of going to the dog room she lingered around the cats some more, glancing out of the corner of her eye and watching Nathan through the large plate glass window as he tried to handle the irate elderly woman. Nathan seemed his usual calm collected self, while the woman seemed to be really giving him hell. Eventually the lady gripped Nathan's forearm, squeezing with a nasty look on her face before releasing him and hobbling down the sidewalk.

Nathan turned and met Lola's eyes through the window before turning away and striding down the sidewalk in the opposite direction, out of her line of sight.

"I think I'm going to come back tomorrow, okay?" she told the busy handler, quickly taking her leave of the shelter when it was obvious they had their hands full. Rounding the corner, she nearly tripped over the smoky gray cat sitting in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Whoa!" she cried out, regaining her balance. "Hey there, kitty," she smiled, crouching down to its level. "You scared me there."

The cat stared her down with sky-blue eyes, and Lola reached out to pet him. "You're a pretty one, aren't you?"

Immediately the cat's demeanor completely changed, and he bumped against her hand and purred like a motorboat. He came closer, brushing her knees and smoothing his cheek against her pants leg.

"You're so sweet," Lola smiled widely. The cat rose up and put his front paws on her knee, and that's when she noticed the reddened, blistered pad on his left paw. "Oh no, you're hurt!" As she went to examine it, the cat yelped in pain, snatching his paw back.

Concerned by his reaction, she immediately she scooped him up. "I know I should take you to the shelter, but they're so busy there," she murmured. "I think I'm going to take you home with me."

She started down the sidewalk, cat settled securely in her arms, when a glint of silver caught her eye. "What's this?" she murmured, bending carefully to pick it up. It was a ring on a heavy twisted silver chain, the ring itself yellow gold with three stones set in diamonds in a row. The cat batted at it intently as she held it up to study it further.

"Let's hope I can find the owner of this, it looks like it means something to someone," she commented, slipping the chain over her neck. "Let's go, kitty. I need to find a vet to look at this paw of yours."

* * *

"I never took you as a cat person, Regine," Duke remarked when he saw Lola carrying the gray cat towards the Gull, an eyebrow raised at his tenant.

"He was hurt, and the shelter is completely overrun at the moment," Lola answered him, a hand absently stroking the cat's back while he purred contentedly. "I'll keep him for a few days and when things calm down, I'll take him down there."

The cat suddenly twisted in her arms, yowling as if something had alarmed him. "Seems he's already attached to you," Duke observed, laughing. "You might just have found yourself a permanent companion."

"Could be worse," Lola said cheerfully, and the cat calmed down as soon as she started stroking him again. "At least I get along with him." She turned as to walk up the stairs, and then stopped. "Hey, do you know where I could find a vet? He's hurt and I don't want the wound getting infected."

Duke walked over and reached for the cat's paw, and immediately the cat swiped with claws out. "Whoa there, kitty," he said, laughing. "Not gonna hurt you. Just trying to look at this paw of yours."

The cat stared him down, unblinkingly, the only sign of his pique a flick of his tail.

"Try over on Claiborne Street," Duke offered. "Robbie runs a good shop."

"Thanks," Lola smiled at Duke. "I appreciate it."

It was a short trip over to the vet's office, and it didn't take long for the vet — a rotund, ruddy man — checking over her foundling.

"This is a pretty bad burn," he commented, examining the paw as Lola held him in her arms. She'd tried handing him over to the vet, but as soon as he tried to touch him he'd flattened his ears and hissed warningly. But now he was barely flinching as the vet prodded the injury, looking completely unconcerned.

"Yeah, he yowled pretty loudly when I went to look at it. Funny that he's not reacting now," Lola observed.

"Sometimes there's not an explanation for what animals do," the vet offered. "I'll clean this wound and let you be on your way. If he licks it or starts picking at it in any way, I'll have to put a cone on him."

The cat hissed again, and Lola let out a laugh. "Definitely not a fan of that, it seems." But the more the cat reacted to their conversation, the more she was starting to feel that something was very strange about this particular cat.

"There we go," the vet said, finishing putting some ointment on the wound. "I'll give you a tube of this and I want you to apply it at least three times a day. Come back if it starts looking infected, okay?"

"I will," Lola promised. "How much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it," he waved it off. "I can afford it with all the business that's coming through."

"The cats from the shelter, right?" Lola asked, even though she knew it was none of her business.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" The vet looked surprised.

"I was there a few days ago; they were bringing a lot of them in. The room where they keep the cats was full and it didn't look like they could take many more." Something was ringing a warning bell in the back of her head but she couldn't put her finger on why.

"There's been an uptick in the number of strays coming in," he commented. "We're not a town that's usually not overrun with strays but there have been weirder things before."

"I'll bet," Lola murmured, her suspicions aroused. "Thanks again for looking at him."

"My pleasure," the vet smiled.

* * *

"You know, I feel weird about continuing to call you 'kitty'," Lola commented a few mornings later as she made breakfast. The cat jumped up on an armchair, watching Lola with those piercing blue eyes. "I should give you a temporary name or something."

He tilted his head, his tail whipping back and forth.

"Not fond of the idea?" Lola laughed. "Well, I have to think on it anyway. Can't be calling you just any old name." She reached out to pet him, and he gave a soft meow, eyes closing.

"You really like being petted," she commented, watching him soak up the attention. "But only by me, it seems. Duke's right, you're pretty attached. I hope that doesn't hurt you when I have to give you up."

He yowled again, that same alarmed look coming back. He paced on the cushion of the armchair, looking bothered.

"I wish I knew what was going on in that head of yours," Lola murmured. "Stay here, I need to at least get some basic supplies. I'll be back soon, okay?"

The cat gave out a sad meow, and then curled up on the cushion.

"I won't be long. I promise."

The vet had given her some food and a little bit of litter to tide her over in the meantime, but she still needed a litter box; the cardboard box she was using currently just wasn't going to cut it. The pet store happened to be not too far away from the shelter and it was Lola's first stop during her errand running.

As she passed through the spot where she'd found the cat, something shiny in Lola's peripheral vision caught her eye. She stopped and turned, eyes searching the bush where the glint had come from. She knelt down, parting the plant with one hand, gasping when the object she'd seen was revealed.

In this case, it was actually two objects. A police badge rested next to a gun, and when Lola flipped it open to examine it she gasped again. Nathan's face stared back at her, with his name clearly written beside the picture.

A sense of urgency gripped her forcibly with the discovery. "I've gotta get back," she whispered, closing the badge and stuffing both it and the weapon in her purse. She rushed back down the sidewalk the way she came, errands completely forgotten.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter summary:** _Duke and Lola make a startling discovery. Nathan is a little… indisposed._

**Notes:** If you want to keep up with the latest happenings on the fic or if you just want to see me flail and curse over it (which happens a lot, haha) I can be found on Tumblr as casi-boo-boo-kitty. Or, if you're not interested in following my whole blog, you can follow the tag 'she tastes like you havensyfy'.

As always, follows, faves, and reviews will be squeed upon sight. ;)

* * *

"Hey, you can't bring that cat in here!" Duke shouted at Lola when she brought the cat into the restaurant part of the Gull. "I have health codes I have to follow."

"Duke, upstairs, now," Lola tried to channel Nathan's cold, hard stare that she saw him use on Duke (quite often, she might add), trying to convey the seriousness of the situation. "I really don't give a damn about your health codes right now."

"I got a business to run," Duke started to protest and Lola glared harder at him.

"Up. Stairs. _Now_," she shot at him, and Duke held up his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay, I can give you like five minutes," he told her, following her out of the Gull and into the upper apartment. Shutting the door behind them, Lola let the cat off onto the cushion of the same chair he'd been in earlier. Looking up at Lola, he gave a curious meow.

"Don't freak out from what I'm about to show you," Lola said to Duke in a cautious voice, setting her purse down on the table.

"That really inspires confidence," Duke scoffed, crossing his arms as he watched her.

Lola merely gave him another dark look, and then opened her purse. She drew out the badge and the weapon and set them on the table slowly. The cat immediately went berserk, jumping onto the table and pawing at the objects while loudly caterwauling.

"Whoa," Duke said, taking a step back with his eyes trained on the table, staring at the crazed feline. "Where the hell did you get those? Are you, like, trying to impersonate a police officer or something?"

Lola made a disgusted noise. "Hardly." She reached for the badge, the cat allowing her to pick it up. She flipped it open, showing Duke. "It's Nathan's. I found it and his weapon when I passed through the spot where I found this cat. He has a burn on his paw, and the last time I saw Nathan he had a bandage on his palm."

Duke's expression went from disbelief to shock. "So the cat—"

"—is Nathan," Lola finished for him. "And it must have happened not long after he left the shelter, the day I ran into him."

Duke stared for a good minute, and then started laughing. "Nathan Wuornos got turned into a cat," he said, slapping his leg in his mirth. "Oh man, I want to get one of those dangly cat toys and see if he'll actually chase it." Then he paused and laughed harder. "Or a laser pointer! Should I get a laser pointer? I heard cats love those."

Nathan, having calmed down by this point, flattened his ears with a sharp hiss and stared Duke down, tail twitching in annoyance.

"Nice to see some things haven't changed," Duke smirked.

"Yeah, let's not do that," Lola said, her eyes cutting over to Nathan, who curled up on the table and yawned, suddenly looking tired. "Come on, Duke. Take this seriously."

"I'm sorry but this is hilarious," Duke said, grinning. "Out of all the crazy things that happen in this psycho town, this has to be one of the best things I've ever seen. Are you sure we can't leave him like that?"

"No, we can't— what do you mean crazy things?" Lola forgot Nathan for a moment, attention completely on Duke.

"No one's told you? Haven's got these things called the Troubles. Nathan here," and he gestured to the cat that was now asleep, "Can't feel a thing. We've had people that made crazy people sane and sane people crazy just by playing a musical instrument, a guy who could take other people's Troubles by touching their blood, and two families whose hate made tree roots attack people. And now we have someone out there turning people into cats. The Troubles, they are back."

Lola regarded Nathan with a considerable amount of surprise. He couldn't feel anything? He hadn't let on at all. But the first dream she'd seen containing him now made a lot more sense. "They're back?"

"Last outbreak was about twenty years ago. Nathan and his partner Audrey Parker got rid of them. But it seems whatever they did last time didn't stick."

"Audrey Parker?" Lola's brow furrowed. "Was she blond haired and blue eyed?"

Duke blinked in surprise. "Yeah. How'd you know that?"

"Nathan showed a picture to me of her, asked if I knew her," Lola told him, sitting down on the couch slowly. Duke took a seat in the chair Nathan had vacated. "I told him I didn't. But... I've been seeing her in my dreams. First time was when I was around ten years old and they stopped after a while, but just recently they've started back up again."

"You saw Audrey?" Duke's interest was clearly piqued. "Like, just random dreams of her?"

"No," Lola said, shaking her head. "No, she was talking to my dad in some of them, and others it was just her. I don't know why, but I've seen several different scenes where my dad is discussing things that make no sense. At least, not to me. But the conversations between them were pretty intense." She paused; hesitating about telling Duke this but ultimately decided that she might as well tell him everything. "And right after I got to town... I started to see things about Nathan. Very specific things." She twisted her hands in her lap, her anxiety leaking through. "They're too real to be just dreams."

"Like what?" Duke asked, leaning forward. "What's something that you saw?"

Lola chewed on her lip, debating on what to tell him before choosing one. "You and Nathan were having a conversation," she began. "A conversation about a counterfeiter. You told him you were telling the truth after he questioned you, and he got upset."

Duke's eyes began to widen in disbelief as she continued to recount what she saw. "He changed the subject, started to talk about something that happened between the two of you in third grade. Something about tacks. And a girl named Carla Rose. At the end of it, you asked him if you deserved to die for that." Lola's expression was somber, but it was clear to her that she'd really rattled Duke.

"How... How did you—" and Duke put a hand on his head, slid it down over his crown and to the back of his neck. "You... you saw that."

"In a dream." Lola's eyes were grim. "A dream that apparently was actually a memory. I could feel his emotions while I was seeing it. I could feel how angry, how upset he was with you. He wanted revenge." She looked down at her hands and sighed. "I also experienced when Nathan found out he could feel Audrey's touch." She lifted her head, eyes cutting over to the cat, and then looked back down. "I felt all the joy, the wonder, the longing that one simple kiss on his cheek brought him. Then right after that memory came when Nathan could apparently feel everything again. He... he had a rose, and he was enjoying being able to feel it. Told Audrey that the lips were the most sensitive skin on the body. She was looking at him oddly but when he explained that that cheek kiss was the first time he could feel anything, she seemed to be, I don't know... more accepting of it?"

She shrugged, looking back up at Duke. "There's been a lot more than that. But those... those are the ones that had the most impact."

"You're Troubled," Duke looked at her with an unreadable expression. "You... see other people's memories as dreams. Not the strangest Trouble I've ever come across but hey, at least you're not out there turning people into cats." He looked over at Nathan sleeping on the kitchen table and his lips curled up in another smirk. "Hey, now I have an insight into Wuornos's head. Got any more things to share about him?"

Lola merely gave him an unimpressed look. "No."

"I wasn't gonna tell him," and Duke's smile turned sly. "But I could use some insider info, things that I could use to make nice with my favorite cop."

"Not a chance, Duke."

"Can't blame a guy for trying," he shrugged.

"He doesn't need to know I know all these personal things about him," Lola added, feeling it needed to be said. "This... this could be damaging for him. I mean, I don't know how... how my Trouble works." It was an odd feeling, coming to the realization that she had an ability she couldn't control. "For all I know he could be seeing things too, about me."

"Is that a bad thing?" Duke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"How would you feel if your memories were spread out like a buffet to someone who's essentially a stranger?" Lola countered.

Duke winced, obviously remembering what she'd told him earlier. "Point."

"So don't tell him," Lola said flatly. "Don't even hint." She'd been around Duke long enough to figure out he was slippery, liked to bend rules where and when he could for his own benefit. "I'll know, Duke."

"Noted, Regine."

"And one other thing," Lola decided that now was the time to come clean, since Nathan already knew. "It's Lola. Regine was a family member's name that I took as a cover."

"Sneaky," Duke grinned. "I like that in a girl."

"Shut up, Duke."

* * *

Dinner that night was an interesting experience. Before going downstairs to grab something for herself, she paused and looked at Nathan, who regarded her calmly. "You need to eat, but I have no idea what to feed you," she confessed. "I mean, do I give you cat food or a cheeseburger? I've been feeding you cat food because I thought you were actually a cat but now that seems wrong."

If cat Nathan could raise his eyebrow, Lola was sure he probably would be in that moment. As it was, he gave a single flick of his tail and stared at her.

"How am I supposed to know? I had a dog growing up!" Lola looked exasperated.

That got a reaction out of Nathan. He stood up, meowing and pacing back and forth in place.

"Not a dog person?" Lola guessed. Nathan meowed again. "This is worse than playing charades. I guess I'm just going to have to ask you what that meant when you're human again. That is, if you remember this conversation."

Nathan batted at her leg with claws sheathed as if to say, _very funny_.

* * *

Later that night, Lola lay on her bed, attempting to read a book but was unable to concentrate on it. Her eyes kept wandering over to Nathan, who was slowly dozing off again on the kitchen table.

"Hey," she called out softly, as to not startle him. Nathan raised his head, blinking slowly. "Come over here. That table has got to be uncomfortable." She patted the bed beside her invitingly. She hoped she wasn't being too forward. Human Nathan probably wouldn't have accepted the invitation, but cat Nathan may not have had the same inhibitions.

He hesitated, clearly weighing the options out. Then he got to his feet, arching his back and extending his claws as he stretched. Hopping off the table, he trotted across the room and nimbly jumped onto the bed, kneading the sheets before setting down beside her with a silent sigh.

Lola automatically reached down to pet him, and immediately he began to purr loudly. It felt good, being his protector while he was in this form. She felt like they'd forged a bond, gained a level of trust that they hadn't had while Nathan was still human. She just wondered if the trust would carry over once he'd changed back.

She picked him up, Nathan letting out a surprised yelp with his legs scrabbling for purchase. She set him on her stomach with his face pointed towards hers, carefully balancing him on her torso.

Panic had seized his eyes, but he calmed down as soon as she started stroking her fingers over his head. "Shh, Nathan. I wouldn't hurt you," she soothed, gazing into his eyes. "That's pretty much your problem, isn't it? You can't let people in, can you? You've been hurt too much." Nathan set his chin down, closing his eyes, his expression unreadable. "I like that you feel safe with me, Nathan. I'm glad you can trust me," Lola whispered.

They fell asleep like that, Nathan's head pillowed close to her heart and Lola's hands resting against him.

The next morning, Lola awoke on her side with Nathan curled into her, her body cupping his feline form. She quietly watched the sleeping Nathan for several minutes, until the weight of her gaze awakened him. He let out a huge yawn, stretching his lanky limbs. Even in cat form those long legs of his had carried over.

"Morning, Nathan," Lola said softly. She reached out to pet him, but as soon as her fingers caressed the top of his head a couple of times, she knew something was wrong. Nathan yesterday couldn't get enough of her loving on him. This Nathan that had awakened next to her this morning was more catlike, appreciating the attention but not reacting in the same manner.

"You're losing your personality," she whispered, horrified. "The change... it must have a time limit. If we don't get you back to human form soon..." She couldn't finish that thought.

She had to figure this out, and soon. Before Nathan was trapped as a cat forever.

* * *

"Why do you feel the need to keep dragging me into this?" Duke groused, polishing a table with a cloth.

"Because you're the only one who knows you-know-who is a cat," Lola hissed, keeping her voice low so the other patrons of the Grey Gull wouldn't overhear. "We're running out of time. If we don't figure this out, he'll be stuck like that."

"Again, can't we just leave him like that?" Duke smirked. "I rather like the change."

"This isn't funny, Duke!" Lola swatted Duke on the arm.

"Okay, okay," Duke relented, straightening. "Let's try and think like Nathan. As scary as that thought may be..."

Lola merely rolled her eyes. "What would Nathan do if he and Audrey were working a case like this?" she asked, biting her lip when she saw Duke freeze. Audrey was a sore subject, but in this case it couldn't be helped. Nathan didn't have a partner anymore and in this situation, she was as close to one as he was going to get.

"They usually went to the paper," Duke shrugged. "All of Haven's secrets lie with the paper. The Teagues may not be here anymore but I'm sure they passed along a good deal of what they know to Eden."

"It's a start," Lola murmured. "Thanks, Duke." She started to walk away but stopped, leaning in. "Start spreading the word that Nathan went out of town. Too much longer and people will be asking questions about where the Chief went."

"No, I haven't been in this situation before," Duke muttered, and Lola gave him a strange look. "Nothing. Never mind."

* * *

"Sure, I can help you track this info down," Eden agreed, the two of them settling down in front of the Haven Herald's computer. "How'd that info I gave you pan out, by the way?"

"Had to set it aside for something a little more important," Lola said sheepishly. "But as soon as it's over, I plan on diving wholeheartedly into it."

"Well, if I can still be of some assistance, just let me know," Eden smiled and then turned to the computer. She flipped back through the past two weeks' worth of editions, the fingers on the hand that wasn't controlling the mouse beating a rapid tattoo against the desk. "We printed a piece a few days ago about the unusual amount of stray cats being brought in," she commented. Lola nodded; she was aware of that one. "Which, I don't know if this would be of any use to you – there've been more than a few missing persons' reports made over the last ten days. The most notable one was five boys that all disappeared on the same day. Last place they were seen was over on Baker, which incidentally was where a litter of five kittens were found."

"Did anyone notice anyone else in the area where they were found?" Lola asked. She was trying to think like Nathan, think like a cop, which was difficult because she was a kindergarten teacher. No real need for hardcore interrogation skills with five and six year olds.

"Just Mrs. Ward, from local gossip," Eden replied. "She tends to be in the area when there are cats around. It's a sixth sense she has or something."

There it was; the missing piece. The last person she'd seen Nathan with was Mrs. Ward. She'd been upset about her cats being taken, so naturally she would have confronted Nathan. "What did the boys have to do with a cat?"

"I think they were teasing it?" Eden frowned. "I don't know, I hear a lot of things and some are true, some aren't. But one thing's for sure – if it has to do with a cat, you can bet Kay Ward will be hovering nearby."

Lola grabbed her purse, standing. "You've been a great help, Eden," she said gratefully. "I owe you a drink."

"Let me know when you're available to pay up," Eden said with a grin.

"Actually?" Lola paused, considered. "I could use your help. Could you spare a few hours?" It was a snap decision, involving Eden, but she didn't think that Duke would be appropriate for the job in this instance. She needed someone a bit gentler to back her up in what could be a very delicate situation.

"Sure," Eden replied, looking a bit confused but was quickly replaced with her usual sunny demeanor. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to pay a visit to someone," Lola said, looking determined.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter summary:** _Lola continues to be an invaluable help to Nathan, and Nathan finds his own way to thank her._

**Notes:** Sorry it took so long for a new chapter! Have finally found my groove again, yay!

And again, if you want the latest on the fic, you can follow me on Tumblr (casi-boo-boo-kitty) or track the tag 'she tastes like you havensyfy'.

* * *

"They took my cats," Mrs. Ward looked completely gutted. "They took my cats, and now my daughter is going to take over my life. She won't let me have even one cat. Poppy hates cats."

"That must have been very traumatic for you," Lola said sympathetically. "They meant a lot to you, huh?"

"They kept me company after my Herbert died," Mrs. Ward replied, her eyes moist. "Poppy was living her life, too busy for me. I wanted a companion, so I made a trip to the shelter. I brought home Smoky and he was the best companion I could have asked for. But Smoky was lonely, so I brought home Misty." She wiped her eyes with a handkerchief she pulled from her sleeve. "Before I knew it I was taking in strays, adopting kittens and cats nobody wanted. I couldn't stop. I wanted every cat I came across to know the love of someone who really cared about them."

"You have such a big heart, Mrs. Ward," Eden said kindly, picking up on the tone Lola had set.

"Thank you, dear. I spent most of my income on food and litter, but it was worth it," Mrs. Ward said staunchly. "I know it was silly of me, taking on so much. They took over my life. But I loved them all."

"How did Poppy get involved?" Lola asked, starting to put together a picture from the information.

"She dropped in, unannounced of course. I could never get that girl to follow basic courtesies," Mrs. Ward sniffed. "She was horrified, decided that I was out of my mind and that I was going to get rid of 'all these awful pests', as she put it, and move in with her." Anger started to glitter in Mrs. Ward's eyes. "As if I couldn't take care of myself! The very nerve of that girl. She has no business bossing her mother around."

"I would have been angry too if someone tried to control me like that," Eden said. "Especially a family member. Even if they meant well, it's just not right."

"I was furious!" Mrs. Ward waved the handkerchief around like a banner. "And then she involved the police in the matter! As if I wasn't insulted enough. Especially after Chief Wuornos was brought in."

"I saw you at the shelter the day they brought your cats in," Lola told Mrs. Ward. "I was looking for a companion myself." She paused. She hoped this next bit didn't upset the elderly woman even further. "I also saw you confront Chief Wuornos outside." Thinking about Nathan made her heart squeeze. She hoped he hadn't degenerated further in the time she'd been away from him.

"I wanted him to know just how angry I was with him for giving in to that fool daughter of mine. He fed me the standard line about how the police were just doing their job. Poppycock. I don't have time for weak-willed men. He was wrong for taking my babies."

Weak-willed wasn't a phrase she would have used to describe Nathan, but she knew better than to argue. "What about the boys?" Lola asked, changing the subject. "I heard that you got pretty angry when you saw them teasing that cat."

"Children these days are so cruel," Mrs. Ward sniffed. "Gave each of those boys a good thump on the ear for being so mean to that poor, scared kitty." She twisted the handkerchief in her hands. "Then a few days later I saw that horrible Jake Cooper chasing a cat away from his store with a broom. The poor dear just wanted something to eat! He was skin and bones. I gave that wicked man a piece of my mind. He didn't care a single bit, but someone had to stand up to his bullying. I wasn't going to allow it. There were other people, but those are the ones whom I remember made me the angriest. Nobody values animals anymore, and it's a crying shame. A crying shame, I tell you."

That was exactly what Lola needed to hear to confirm the conclusion she had come to back at the Herald. It was Mrs. Ward behind the changes. "Mrs. Ward, I have a very special cat I want you to meet," Lola said, putting on a smile. "He's very dear to me and I think you'd love him."

"Oh, dear, I'd be delighted!" Mrs. Ward said, her eyes lighting up. "Do bring him by."

* * *

"Spill it," Eden prodded Lola once they were in the car and driving away from the Ward residence. "You have a theory and I want to hear it."

"She's behind it," Lola stated, eyes on the road. "Mrs. Ward is the one turning them into cats. Not purposefully. But I think whenever she sees a cat being threatened and she confronts the person doing it, they change. The boys, Jake Cooper, Nathan. And I have a feeling that she was angered by something as simple as someone bringing in a cat to the shelter. She's very protective." She paused. "I'm hoping by bringing Nathan to her and letting her touch him again, it might change him back."

"Makes sense," Eden commented. "So she's Troubled. Have to say, I heard of them and the Teagues brothers told me a lot before they passed on, but this is my first experience dealing with them directly."

"Well, they're back, and I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot more of them," Lola nodded. She glanced over at Eden briefly, hesitating. She'd initially decided not to tell Eden, but this recent turn of events had convinced her otherwise. "I'm Troubled too."

"So do I have to worry about something bad happening to me if I'm around you?" Eden joked. "I'm kidding. I think if I was going to be affected I would have been by now. What is it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I see other people's memories as dreams," Lola admitted, a smile upturning her lips from the joke. Eden had taken it well. "So far, the only person I've affected has been Nathan Wuornos. As least, as far as I know. I've been seeing his memories but I don't know if he's been seeing mine. It could be one way only, or go both ways. I don't know."

"So, be prepared to have my most embarrassing moments revealed to you. Got it," Eden laughed.

"I'll let you know if I start seeing anything," Lola told her sincerely. "Hey, are you Troubled too?" she asked curiously.

"My family was at one point," Eden informed her. "The hate between my parents' families caused tree roots to go berserk and attack people. But Audrey Parker got them to reconcile, and the Trouble hasn't been, well, a trouble ever since. I'd have to start a feud with one of my relatives on either side for it to come up again. But since we know about it... I doubt that will happen."

"Audrey Parker, huh?" Lola mused. "She keeps popping up."

"She helped combat the Troubles twenty years ago from what I hear," Eden said. "You might want to look into her if you want to understand what goes on around here a little better."

"Oh, I plan on it," Lola promised.

* * *

"Nathan?" Lola called out, unlocking her apartment. "Nathan, sweetheart, where are you?"

Nathan ran up, meowing, then ran back to the empty food bowl and meowed again, sticking his nose in it and nudging it across the floor.

"Okay, you're hungry, I get it," Lola said, laughing. "Just give me a minute and I'll get you some."

Admittedly, she was worried. Nathan was acting even less of a human by this point, and she was slightly freaking out about the change succeeding. She had a feeling that once they lost their entire personality, that there was no coming back. She was desperately hoping that Nathan wasn't in that category. "We're going to take you over to Mrs. Ward's and see if she can change you back," she told the feeding cat. The cat didn't even acknowledge her and it ramped up her worry another notch.

Once Nathan had eaten his fill and availed himself of the litter box, Lola loaded him up in the borrowed carrier, Nathan hissing and fighting her. "Come on, Nathan, just bear with me," she pleaded. "This will all be over soon, I promise."

He continued to protest loudly from the backseat the entire drive, pacing and occasionally butting his head against the wire door of the cage. Glancing every so often in her rearview mirror, she tried to ignore the knot in the pit of her stomach.

"Come in!" Mrs. Ward invited them warmly once they arrived, Lola lugging the carrier in awkwardly. "Is this our little visitor?" she asked sweetly, opening the door to the carrier as soon as Lola set it down. Watching her uneasily, she gave the elderly lady a tight smile when she briefly glanced up.

"That he is," Lola said, trying to keep the tension out of her voice.

"Something the matter, dear?" Mrs. Ward asked, concerned, settling back in her chair with a much calmer Nathan purring softly on her lap.

"Mrs. Ward, I have something to tell you," Lola started awkwardly, finding a chair. "I don't know how else to say this, but... that's Chief Wuornos you have on your lap."

Mrs. Ward regarded her with considerable surprise. "You don't say?" She peered into Nathan's eyes, and then let out a soft exclamation after studying his eyes. "My word. Those are the exact shade of his eyes." She stroked his head, but Nathan didn't react.

"We're pretty sure you're Troubled," Lola told her gently. "Your run-ins with Jake Cooper, the five boys, Nathan... you were angry at them for hurting a cat in some way."

"You're right about that," Mrs. Ward admitted, exhaling. "Well, then, dear, how do I go about making this right?"

"I brought Nathan to you hoping that if you touched him again, that he would turn back," Lola said, eyes trained on him. "Set him down, let's see if anything happens."

Mrs. Ward prodded him off her lap, giving his head one last stroke. He stared the two of them down once he was on the floor, tail flicking once.

In the blink of an eye, the cat was replaced with a human Nathan. He toppled over from the crouched position he had been in with a groan, his eyes closing.

In a flash Lola was at his side, rubbing his back. "It's okay, Nathan," she said soothingly, watching his face carefully. "It's over. You're back."

He licked dry lips, his eyes cracking open slightly and peering up at Lola. "What... what happened?" he asked hoarsely, coughing.

"You spent the last few days as a cat," Lola told him, her fingers dancing over him much as they had when he was in feline form. He let out another groan, closing his eyes again.

"Explains why my mouth tastes like cat food," Nathan mumbled, and Lola laughed.

* * *

It took a while, but soon Nathan was coherent enough to be helped out to the car. Mrs. Ward had apologized profusely, but true to Nathan, he couldn't hold her responsible for the more damaging consequences. The Troubles happened whether they liked it or not, and no fault could be laid at the feet of those who had no control over something they weren't even aware of.

He watched the scenery from the passenger seat; absently chewing on the piece of gum Lola had passed to him to rid himself of the cat food taste.

"So what happens now?" Lola asked, breaking the silence.

"We get her Trouble under control," Nathan answered her, unable to look her way. Some of the later memories were cloudy, but the ones from the first day he'd spent as a cat were crystal clear. Lola had gone out of her way to protect him, take care of him. Sure, she'd gotten Duke involved and he wasn't exactly pleased at that, but considering she couldn't look to him for guidance, he supposed Duke was a passable substitute. Even if he was a crook, Duke occasionally showed his good side. "I'm not sure how we'll do that, but it's important we do. Unchecked, it could wreak more havoc than it already has."

"Agreed," Lola murmured. "How are you feeling?"

"Still a bit fuzzy-headed, but I'm getting there," Nathan answered her. His hand twitched, and he clenched it into a fist to fight off the urge to take Lola's hand, the one that was resting palm-up on her thigh. He couldn't forget just how much she'd touched him, how free she'd been with her caresses. Sure, he'd been a cat and people tended to be a little more tactile with an animal, but part of him was wondering if there was more to it than that.

More importantly, he couldn't forget what she'd murmured to him the night she'd invited him into her bed. She was right; he'd been hurt one too many times to really trust anybody. But what scared him right to his very core was that he now trusted her implicitly. She'd shown him with her actions that she was a caring, genuine person, had actually cared for his well-being. She could have shoved the problem onto someone else. But she'd taken it upon herself to solve the mystery of why he had been turned into a cat.

It reminded him so much of Parker that it hurt.

* * *

It was easy enough to close the case once they had the cause. Kay Ward turned back as many cats as her curse would allow her to, but there were a few that had indeed stayed as cats too long and couldn't be changed back. Those hurt Nathan the most, as those families had lost them forever. Those missing people's files would never be closed.

A few days after being changed back found Nathan investigating a possible homicide with the only evidence on a tiny husky puppy, barely weaned from the looks of it. He'd sent it to the station to have the evidence shaved off his legs, and one of his officers was getting ready to have it taken off to the shelter when Nathan came out of his office and stopped them.

"Something the matter, boss?" she asked, looking confused. "Did we miss something on the dog?"

"No, no," Nathan assured his officer. "But I think I have a home for this little guy already."

It was a snap decision, one that he wasn't sure of but he was going through with anyway. He pulled up in front of the Gull, scooping his cargo up from the passenger seat.

Lola answered her door after a few knocks, initially looking confused but smiling once she saw who her caller was. "Nathan," she said brightly as she let him in. Her gaze dropped to the squirming bundle in his hands. "What's this?" she asked curiously, her gaze softening immediately as she took in the puppy.

"A-A gift," Nathan found himself stumbling over his words. He awkwardly held out the puppy to Lola. "I know he's not a Golden Retriever but I—"

"Oh Nathan, thank you!" Lola exclaimed, taking the puppy from him and cuddling it tenderly, her eyes bright with joy as she cooed. Then her head suddenly snapped up, her eyes sharply trained on him. "How... how did you know I liked Golden Retrievers?" she asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

Shit. Nathan went with the first explanation that popped into his head. "You... looked like a Golden Retriever kind of person?" he offered, a hint of a smile playing over his lips to cover his nerves.

The flimsy cover worked, and Lola went back to showering attention on the pup. "Not the first time someone's said that," she smiled, and Nathan breathed a mental sigh of relief.

"I have left over cat food and some litter but I'm definitely not set up for a dog," Lola added, laughing as she set the puppy down. She'd taken three strides towards the sink when suddenly she cried out, stumbling forward and falling to one knee. Nathan was by her side in an instant, the puppy sniffing at his new owner curiously.

"You okay?" he asked, his heart beating rapidly from the scare. "What happened?"

"Stepped on something," Lola whimpered, and Nathan carefully helped her sit on the floor, picking up her foot gently to see what had caused her to cry out. His skin came alive as soon as they touched and his heart started to pound faster yet.

A tack was embedded into the sole of her foot. Mentally, Nathan gave a growl. He hated tacks. Absolutely loathed them.

"C'mon," he urged her, carefully helping her to her feet and limped her over to the couch, trying not to think about how close her body was to his. He pulled Lola's foot over his knee once they were seated and gently removed the tack, allowing himself to stroke a hand over her instep soothingly when she let out a hiss. His skin was tingling, his blood heating up as his body craved more.

"Let's get this cleaned up," Nathan said gently, looking up and into her eyes with her foot still cradled tenderly in his hands. A sheen of tears had glazed Lola's eyes and his heart squeezed seeing it.

"You don't have to do that," Lola protested, attempting to pull her foot away. Nathan caught it, his palms splayed flat over her skin, the sensation flowing through his nerves a siren's song that he was valiantly trying to ignore.

"Hey," he said gently. "Open wounds and old wooden floors aren't a good idea. Let me take care of this."

He gently cleaned and bandaged the puncture, his hands moving over her foot as if it were glass. He didn't have to take care of her, he knew this. But after she'd gone out of her way to make sure his burn had been taken care of while he was in feline form, it was the least he could do to return the favor. Though it didn't stop him feeling slightly guilty at how he'd lingered, pretending to be thoroughly examining the wound when he simply didn't want to stop touching her.

"There," he smiled when he finished, reluctantly relinquishing her limb. "Good as new. But you'd better watch out for more of those. I really hate tacks."

"I can see why," Lola smiled. "Thank you."

With his business finished, he bid her goodbye and turned to leave when Lola suddenly called out, "Nathan, wait."

He turned, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

She reached into her shirt, pulled out a necklace. His necklace, he realized with a start. He knew she'd been holding onto it for safekeeping when he'd been in feline form but in all honesty, with the chaos of closing the case he'd forgotten all about it.

Stepping forward as she took it off, she reached for his hand, pulling it palm-up towards her. He tried not to react to the unexpected contact as she placed the jewelry in it and curled his fingers around it. "Thought you'd want this back," she told him, looking up at his face with a sort of an anxious look on hers. "I meant to give it back before this but..."

"You don't have to explain," he told her with a warm smile. "Thank you for keeping it safe for me."

The encounter had revealed something significant, he mused as he finally said his goodbyes and left Lola to get to know her new companion. After what she'd said while he was a cat about owning a dog when she was young and her reaction to his Golden Retriever comment today, it confirmed that Lola was definitely the girl he was seeing in his dreams. How or why, the significance had yet to be determined.

* * *

"So, I happened to find something interesting as I was looking over old photographs in the Herald archives," Eden said over lunch one day. Lola raised an eyebrow over her frozen margarita, sucking a mouthful up and swallowing before commenting.

"Okay," she said, unsure of why Eden was bringing this up. "Another hometown festival? Some sort of ribbon cutting?"

"Even better," Eden said excitedly, and drew a newspaper clipping out of her bag, passing it over to Lola. "Cameron Patton's birthday party."

"Why would a newspaper write about a little kid's birthday party?" Lola asked, confused, as she took the clipping hesitantly.

"The Teagues brothers were really into local interest pieces," Eden explained, sipping at her daiquiri, watching Lola examining the article. "Read the caption."

"'Local cop Audrey Parker visits Big Benjy's ice cream parlor during Cameron Patton's 10th birthday party. Officer Parker is pictured with Maribel Velasquez, in town on a family vacation.'" Lola raised her head slowly, a haunted look having overtaken her face. "That's me. That's me with Audrey."

"I thought it was you," Eden told her. "Name threw me a bit, though."

"That's my first name. Maribel. I'm not called that because I have a cousin with a very similar name and we were confused a lot as kids," Lola explained, sounding dazed. "I have no memory of this."

Eden frowned. "Well, it's easy to forget things we did as a kid," she began, but Lola waved a hand to cut her off.

"No, I mean, I don't remember this," Lola said emphatically. "I have souvenirs and mementos from the summer camp I went to that year. I was there the entirety of the summer. I remember it as clear as day."

Eden opened her mouth, and then closed it again, clearly looking at a loss as to what to say.

"I think I need to call my dad," Lola muttered, pushing a hand through her hair and looking distinctly uncomfortable and upset. "But thank you, Eden. Thank you so much for continuing to help me with this. It means more than you know."

"You're a part of Haven," Eden answered her quietly. "If there was any question before, that just proved it. You're connected to Audrey. The question is, how?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter summary:** _Secrets, fathers, and alcohol._

**Notes:** The rating initially chosen will finally come into play with the next chapter, along with additional triggers coming into the mix. Shit is about to get real, yo.

* * *

_"Alex, it's wrong. She's a little girl; you can't do that to her."_

_"That's exactly why it needs to be done. She's too young to understand what she's seeing, what she's already seen. No little girl should carry something like with them."_

_"Other people have used their Troubles for the wrong reasons. Don't be one of them."_

_"So you think I should turn my back on her wellbeing? Not protect her as a father should?"_

_"That's not what I'm saying, Alex. There are other ways to handle this. But don't rip them from her and replace them with something else. That's lying to her."_

_The man was distinctly Hispanic, black hair neatly and cleanly cut, dressed appropriately for a day in coastal Maine. His expression was fierce, protective. Audrey sat across from him, her face in a serious, piercing expression as she stared down the man — Alex — in front of her._

_"What if she remembers? She'll start asking questions. What am I supposed to tell her?"_

_"You know she'll ask questions anyway. There's no way that you can erase every dream or memory she's had, which would cripple her mind for all we know. It's dangerous. I'm telling you, don't do it. You'll regret it later. And what if the Rev finds out? He'll hold you up as an example of what not to do, especially with a child involved. It'll just add more fuel to his crusade to wipe those who are Troubled out. I know, Alex. You've not had to deal with him like I have." Audrey's voice was desperate, almost pleading._

_"No, but I've seen plenty," Alex shot back. "I know what you think and feel about him, or did you forget?"_

_"That's not the same as having lived it," Audrey argued._

_"I might as well have lived it!" Alex's hand clenched into a fist on the tabletop, betraying his anger. "She's seeing you, Audrey. She's going to want to know who you are later on down the road. What your connection is to her. Why she is what she is. Because the Troubles are going to come back. I know you're trying to fix that, but what if you don't? Then what?"_

_"Why won't you let me help her?" Audrey asked earnestly. "I could help her understand. She doesn't need to be scared of her Trouble. I could help her control it. I helped you control yours, didn't I?"_

_"That doesn't take away what she's already seen, and you know it." Alex was firm. "You know what you are to her. You can't explain that away. You know that, and you don't want to admit it."_

_Audrey stared him down. "You know that I can't be what I want to her," she said, her voice soft. "That's not my role. My role is to help Haven. I can save her, but not at the cost of everyone else."_

* * *

Nathan awakened from the dream feeling distinctly unsettled. It was the first dream he'd had in a while that hadn't contained Lola, but instead had contained Audrey and a man he'd never seen before or had any knowledge about.

What unsettled him the most, however, was the content. This man, this Alex, had been talking about ripping memories from a little girl, using his Trouble for ill instead of good. Just the very thought filled him with righteous indignation. Who would do that to a child? What could possibly justify such a heinous act?

But it made him wonder what it was that was so horrifying that it couldn't be spoken out loud. They'd danced around the point, never actually stating what it was they were discussing.

Moreover, what was Audrey's connection to Alex? His daughter? What was Audrey to her that she said she couldn't be?

A cold knot settled in his stomach as he came to the sudden and stark realization that Audrey had kept this from him. Audrey, his partner, who shared everything with him. Or, at least, he truly believed that she had shared everything with him pertaining to the Troubles.

He needed to go back over his case files. He needed to find out if he'd overlooked anything at all. He thought back and recalled Audrey being secretive, but he'd simply chalked it up to it probably having something to do with Lucy, with her identity. In light of what he'd seen, however, it was clear that hadn't been the case. She'd been covering this up.

It made him wonder what else she'd kept from him, and the thought was sickening indeed.

* * *

_"Nathan, we need to talk. I found out something about Max Hansen."_

_"What's up?"_

_"He can't feel anything."_

_"How do you know this?"_

_"Well, i-it doesn't matter, alright, what matters is—"_

_"How do you know?"_

_"It doesn't matter. You have the same affliction. Which, probably means you're—"_

_"—related."_

_He found his father sitting in his office poring over paperwork when he stalked in, full of righteous anger and itching for a fight. He immediately got in his father's face, leaning over the desk with a dark expression. "Did you forget to tell me something about Max Hansen?" he threw at his father angrily._

_The Chief looked at him with a blank expression, clearly taken off his guard by the sudden entrance. "What?" he asked Nathan, clueless. It only served to make him angrier._

_"You put him away, you know everything about him; you tell me, don't concern yourself?" Nathan shouted, not caring that the door was open, not caring that Audrey was right behind him witnessing the entire thing. She'd started it, after all._

_"Could we, ah, get a minute alone here—" It was obvious that the Chief was uncomfortable having personal business aired in front of other people, that he was trying to save some face as he motioned to the door and to Audrey._

_"You can say it in front of her!" Nathan bit out, gesturing wildly behind him. He didn't look behind him but he was pretty sure Audrey had some sort of shocked expression on her face._

_The Chief looked at him levelly, looking like he had resigned himself that yes; they were going to have it out right here, right now. "What, you found out? That he... can't feel anything?" The Chief paused. "So you know then. That you're..." and he cut his gaze down as if trying to choose the correct word. "Related."_

_Nathan gazed at him, disbelieving, shaking his head slightly. Part of him wanted to reject this outright but looking at the Chief, his expression told him that yes, this was the reality. He couldn't breathe. He could only stare._

_"I wanted to tell ya."_

_"That I had relatives here in Haven that I didn't even know about." Nathan's voice was very quiet, very even until he reached the end of his statement, his anger flaring again as he flicked his hand out to indicate the whole of Haven._

_The Chief held his gaze steady, searching his son's expression. Then he leaned slightly forward, looking like he was hesitating. Nathan waited him out, staring him down. "I-I'm not... n-not your father."_

_Nathan continued to stare, the tight feeling inside his chest increasing._

_The expression on the Chief's face had taken on a grim cast. "Nathan," he said gently. "Max Hansen's your father." The Chief looked away as if he were unable to stand the weight of his adopted son's expression any longer. "Well, are you going to say something?" he finally said after a few beats._

_"Can't say I'm surprised." Nathan's voice was deceptively soft, betraying the hurt he felt. _

_"You mean you know?" The Chief looked completely confused._

_"This? No." Nathan's voice rose again, losing his patience and with it his grip on his temper. "But y-you, there are so many things you don't tell me, secrets that you don't trust me with. Why—" and Nathan threw up his hands as he started to walk away, scoffing disgustedly. He was done. He was finished. As far as he was concerned his 'father' could take a long walk off a short pier right now. _

_"Why should one more surprise me?" he fired off as a parting shot, turning around briefly at the door to give his father one last glare before stalking off._

* * *

"Dad?" Lola gripped her cell tightly, trying not to trip over her own tongue. Talking to her father normally wasn't nerve-wracking in the least, but then she'd never had to deal with her father possibly having lied to her outright. It was an uneasy, sick feeling in the pit of her stomach whenever her mind even brushed the thought.

"Niña," her father greeted her, sounding pleased. "It's good to hear from you, how are you doing?"

"Good, I'm good," she assured him, her confidence bolstered by the warm reception. She proceeded to make small talk with him about how she liked Maine, the weather both there and back home, a few little amusing anecdotes about things going on around Kent.

Lola took a deep breath when there was a lull in the conversation, and decided that this was the best time to broach the reason why she called him. "Dad, there's something I need to ask you."

"Yes, Lola? What is it?" Her father sounded concerned and it made her nerves come back in full force.

Look took a deep breath and dove in. "The summer of 2010," she began. "I remember going to summer camp in Cleveland. But the editor of the newspaper found a clipping with me with a cop named Audrey Parker. Here in Haven." She paused, unsure of how else to say it and decided that she was simply going to be blunt. "Dad, did you lie to me? Were we in Haven? Why would I remember a summer camp if I was there instead?"

There a very long silence on the line. "Lola," her father began, "There's a lot I can't tell you. But yes... we were in Haven. I can't tell you why. It's dangerous for you to know too much."

"What can't you tell me? That I have some sort of connection to Audrey Parker? To other people that live in Haven as well? That my dreams weren't just dreams, but their memories?" Lola's voice was scathing. She knew better to mention the link she'd forged with Nathan, however. He'd probably come to town and carry her off over his shoulder, never mind she was over thirty years old. "I've been seeing Audrey Parker since I was ten years old and I didn't know who the hell she was until now. Why, Dad, why would you keep that from me?" She paused momentarily and her father started to speak, but she cut him off and kept going. "Do you see these things too? Is this genetic? Why would I be seeing things about people I'd never met before now?"

"Lola," her father said, cutting into her ranting. "We're not talking about this."

"You lied to me!" Lola exploded. "Why am I missing a whole summer's worth of memories? Why was it replaced with things I didn't actually do?"

"I was trying to protect you!" Alex shouted.

"How, Dad?" Lola was beside herself at this point, but at least she'd managed to finally pry something from her father, however small. "What did I need protecting from? What is so damned threatening that you felt the need to have someone rip that whole summer from my head?"

"I think you should come home, Lola," her father said, for the first time in her life sounding scared. "You don't belong there. You're going to get hurt and this time I won't be there to protect you."

"I'm not budging until I get some answers," Lola said staunchly, trying to ignore the fear in her father's voice. It unsettled her more than she cared to admit. "I'm not a child you can order home. This is my business, not yours. I can take care of myself!"

"Lola, please!" Now her father sounded desperate. "This isn't some innocent trip you've taken to research your genealogy. There are forces at work that you don't understand, forces that are bigger than you. Bigger than both of us. You're flirting with disaster and you need to get out while you still can. You promised me you'd come home if things got dangerous. Come home, Maribel. Now."

"I've made up my mind, Dad, and I'm not coming home," Lola said sharply, and before her father could protest further, she hung up on him. She dropped down to the couch and tossed her cell phone to the cushion next to her, her head falling into her hands.

He'd lied to her. Her father, the one man she could count on, the one who had soothed her when nightmares of places and people she'd never seen before invaded her mind, had lied to her. The knowledge twisted her stomach into sick, greasy knots, so intensely that she had to press a hand to her stomach. She wished she had someone to lean on, and never in her life had she felt more alone than she did in that very moment. It was a painful, aching realization, knowing that here in Haven she had no one but herself.

Well, there were several ways she could deal with this and none of them were good ideas. But honestly, she didn't care. She'd done several stupid things in her thirty-odd years, what was one more?

With that thought, she changed into something a little slinkier and slipped downstairs.

* * *

The last thing Nathan expected when he walked into the Grey Gull was to spot Lola sitting at the bar, brooding over a glass of whiskey cupped between her hands. It seemed so unlike her that he put aside the business that had brought him there and slipped in beside her, quietly ordering a drink from the bartender. "Hey," he said gently as to not startle.

When she heard him speak, she jerked her head up, looking surprised. The surprise quickly faded, replaced with the same gloomy look as she returned to staring into her drink. "Hey," she returned dully.

"Something on your mind?" he asked, gesturing to the glass in front of her. "You don't seem like a whiskey kind of girl."

"No better drink to drown your sorrows in, according to my father," Lola said with a bitter laugh, knocking half of it back in one go and wincing at the burn.

The bartender delivered Nathan's beer and he nodded his thanks. "Anything I can help with?" Nathan usually wasn't the 'sympathetic listener' type. But he felt the need to return the favor of her going above and beyond for him while he'd been down, so to speak. It only felt right. Not to mention something was tugging at him to help her regardless of any favor.

"Not unless you can get my dad to stop lying to me," Lola mumbled, not looking up.

Oh, Nathan knew that one all too well. Even though it was years ago it still felt like a knife twist in his gut. "What about?" he forced himself to ask.

"Just something about protecting me. I hate when people think lying to protect someone is acceptable," and now Lola did look up, a strange look in her eyes.

Something about that strange look made him uneasy. "Yeah," he finally said, deciding to take a long draught of his beer. It gave him something to do with his hands and gave him a moment to form a reply. "Been there."

"Fathers suck," Lola declared, finishing her drink and signaling the bartender for another. Nathan raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. It wasn't his place to question the lady's preference. He did, however, silently watch her intake as he nursed his beer. Someone needed to watch over her was his reasoning.

When he thought she'd had enough he quietly asked the bartender to cut her off. He'd watched her try to pick up a man earlier with equal parts secondhand embarrassment and bemusement, and was relieved when the man didn't seem interested in her advances. She'd plopped back down beside him and proceeded to continue to drown her (further) sorrows.

"Lola," he said just loudly enough to catch her attention, setting a hand on her shoulder. "I think it's time to call it a night."

"No it's not," Lola slurred, looking miserable. She made a motion to order another and the bartender simply shook his head at her. Lola dropped her forehead to the bar, sighing loudly. "This sucks."

Nathan rubbed her shoulder soothingly, or at least to an outsider that's what it would look like. The truth was that it was the perfect opportunity for him to soak up more of her touch, the graze of his fingertips against the silky smoothness of her shoulder heavenly. "C'mon, Lola," he said gently, dipping his head to speak directly into her ear. "Let's get you upstairs."

He kept an arm around her waist as he guided the inebriated woman up the stairs, taking the keys gently from her hands when they fumbled them and unlocking the door for her. He simply squeezed his arm a little tighter around at her mumbled 'thanks', leading her to the couch and sitting her down. He sat next to her, reaching for one of her hands and clasping it in both of his. It was a struggle to keep a handle on himself, already feeling guilty for the touches he'd already stolen, but it was clear she needed a little comfort. "Are you going to be okay?"

Despite her intoxication, she displayed a surprising amount of lucidity regarding the question. "I don't know," she admitted, bowing her head and closing her eyes. After a beat she opened them and fixed him with her gaze. "Stay with me."

Nathan hesitated. He couldn't very well just abandon her, but nor did he want any awkward situations to happen. People's inhibitions were lowered significantly when they were drunk. "I..."

"I don't have anyone," Lola said sadly. "I'm alone. You're the closest thing I have to a friend." Tears started to well in her eyes and she bowed her head. "I'm sorry, I..."

"Hey," he said, squeezing her hand. His nerves crackled like a live wire with the action. "It's okay. It sounds like you've been through a lot today. I understand." Maybe a little too well, given that it had to do with fathers. His mind wandered to the dream he'd had the night before, and for the first time he wondered if this Alex person had a connection to Lola.

Just as quickly he discarded it. Just because he was Hispanic didn't mean anything. Not to mention Lola wasn't Troubled. He'd gotten pretty good at spotting them and was sure if she was, it would have manifested by now.

He pushed it all aside to focus on Lola. "I'm here for you. Okay? You're not alone."

Those simple words seemed to break the dam that held back Lola's emotions and she broke down into gasping, hiccupping sobs, her body shaking. Nathan let go of her hand to wrap his arms tight around her, rocking her softly and shushing her soothingly. He rested his chin on her head and closed his eyes.

When the worst of the storm seemed to pass Lola's head pulled back to look up at him, tears still glittering in her eyes. Looking back later he should have been able to anticipate what happened next, but in the moment it completely took him by surprise.

She leaned in, pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his lips. His eyes fell closed again, his heart beating a rapid tattoo in his chest but held himself back from returning it. "Thank you," she breathed against them when she pulled back, the bare whisper of her breath tickling his lips sending heat racing through his entire body. It took every ounce of his control to not pull her back against him and crush his lips to hers again, to not react tellingly about what he was thinking and feeling in that very moment.

"Welcome," he said equally as softly, reaching up to stroke a hand down her hair. She burrowed closer into his arms, letting out a quiet sigh. He continued to hold her, her head pillowed against his shoulder.

After a time it was apparent that she had fallen asleep against him, her breathing deep and even. He allowed himself to press his cheek against the top of her head, inhaling the smell of her shampoo. She always had had an appealing scent about her, one that made him smile faintly whenever he caught a whiff of it. For it to be surrounding him, embracing him now, made warmth steal through him.

They couldn't stay there all night, however. Nathan was not a young man any longer, eventually his joints and his back would protest loudly. Careful to disturb her as little as possible, he shifted her in his arms until she was draped across his lap, and then cradled her as he slowly rose to his feet. Luckily she only stirred once, murmuring in her sleep before settling back down.

He crossed the room and laid her gently in her bed, bending down to take her heels off and set them aside. Taking one of the blankets folded neatly on top of an old leather trunk that sat at the foot of the bed, he draped it over her and arranged it so she wouldn't catch a chill. Straightening, he watched her sleep for a few moments, warring with himself. He ended up giving in to the impulse that gripped him and bent to press a lingering kiss to her forehead. Lola stirred slightly again, but stayed quiet.

Nathan turned away from her and returned to the couch, settling back down and pondered what to do next. He could slip out and go home, as Lola was safe and settled now. But there was a voice in the back of his brain that nagged him, saying she had asked him to stay so he should keep his promise.

Sighing, he made his decision. He toed off his shoes and removed his belt, curling the latter into one of his shoes. Snagging the afghan off the back of the couch, he lay down and made himself as comfortable as he possibly could.

He closed his eyes but didn't sleep, the memory of warm, inviting lips pressed so intimately to his shutting out any other thoughts.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter summary:** _Nathan is in a quandary, Lola tries to branch out in the love department._

**Notes:** Hang on tight, kiddies, the ride's going to get pretty rough after this chapter.

As always, follows, faves, and reviews will be squeed upon sight. ;)

* * *

Everybody in Haven knew where Duke Crocker lived. All she had to do was ask the bartender at the Gull and she was directed to the docks, where his boat was moored. He was standing on the deck of the _Cape Rouge_ when Lola approached, Jefe's leash firmly in her hand. "Duke?" she called out to get his attention, her puppy pacing back and forth. He turned with a surprised look on his face that melted into a smile.

"Oh, hey Lola," he greeted her, motioning for her to come aboard. She picked up Jefe, carrying him onto the boat and setting him down on the deck. Upon spotting the puppy, he regarded him with some surprise. "So you brought Nathan with you, huh?" he smirked, Jefe sniffing at Duke's shoes then sitting down and whining.

Lola gave him an unimpressed look, an expression that she seemed to wear around him frequently come to think of it. "Shut up, Duke." So what if Nathan had given her the dog? He'd merely been thinking of her. There wasn't any more to it than that. She wasn't about to admit that his name had been inspired by the giver, however.

"Oh right, you already have a puppy named Nathan," he laughed, the smirk having turned into a wide, knowing grin. "I heard what happened between you two. So, did anything interesting happen? Did you give our favorite police chief a good time?"

"Duke, you really don't know when to quit, do you?" Lola shook her head, unfortunately used to it by now. But it did raise some good questions about what exactly the other night meant in the grand scheme of things. Not that this was the time to ponder them, however.

Duke paused as if he were actually considering the question seriously. "No, I don't," he concluded with a laugh.

Lola rolled her eyes. "Obviously." She sighed. "I was upset and drunk, and he looked after me. That's it. Nothing happened."

"Sure, sure," Duke reassured her, but it was obvious by the smirk he continued to wear that he was simply humoring her. Lola suppressed the sigh that was begging to escape. "So, how can I help you? Pretty sure you didn't stop by just for a chat."

"Actually, I had a pretty important question for you," Lola said, reaching in her bag. She drew out the photo and handed it to him, a quizzical look crossing his face as he accepted it and began to study it. "Do you recognize this man?

Duke's brow furrowed thoughtfully. "He looks vaguely familiar?" he offered hesitantly. "But I'm not sure. Who is he, anyway?"

"My father," Lola told him in a flat voice. She tried not to let all the resentment, the anger she had been feeling bubble up to the surface again. She didn't want Duke's analysis influenced by her emotions. "That was taken in 2010, when apparently I was in Haven on vacation."

"You've been here before?" That definitely got his attention, head snapping up from where he had been giving the photo a closer look. "I thought you'd never stepped foot in Haven before this year."

"Yeah, well that makes two of us," Lola confided bitterly, unable to suppress them any longer. "I learned otherwise when Eden Novelli sprung this on me." She drew the article from her purse that Eden had graciously copied for her at her request and handed that over too.

Duke's eyes widened. "Maribel?" he asked, confused, looking up briefly. "I thought your name was Lola."

"It's my nickname," Lola quickly explained. "And, I'm with Audrey in that photo. After all the dreams I've had, that just can't be coincidence. There's just no way."

"Especially since you said your dad was in them talking to Audrey before," Duke mused. "So, have you taken any of this to Nathan yet?"

Lola shook her head. "I have a feeling the knowledge would outright freak him out. I have to step carefully with him concerning this. Especially since he seems to get a little upset whenever she's mentioned. Throw myself and my father in the mix..."

"Point," Duke agreed, rubbing his chin. "I don't know what to do, Lola. Maybe... maybe I could ask around town for you. They tend to be a little more open with a local than an out of towner." A strange look had entered his eyes but Lola held back from asking about it.

"Excluding Eden, I've noticed that," Lola noted.

"But that's Haven for you," Duke shrugged. "Considering all the shit that goes on around here, it's not uncommon, you know?"

"Yeah," Lola agreed. "Thanks, Duke. You've been a great help."

"Mind if I hold onto this?" Duke waved the photo. "I might get more out of people with something visual."

"Sure," Lola nodded, and Duke handed back the copy of the article. "Again, thanks. I owe you one."

"Careful of promising that," Duke smirked. "I just might take you up on that someday."

Lola shook her head. "Isn't that always that the case with you?"

Duke simply laughed. "Always, Miss Velasquez. Always."

* * *

Nathan was in a quandary.

The more he thought and rethought the notion he'd had the other night about the dream and Lola's comments about her father, the more he convinced himself that there might be a connection there after all. The common threads of protection, fathers, and lies were too close to ignore. He'd almost bet his badge on it, if his gut feeling was anything to go by.

His quandary was how to approach it. He'd taken the tough approach with Lola once before and nearly bungled it. If he hadn't had reeled himself in and taken a different tack, he would have come away with nothing. As it was, it might as well have been nothing with all her subterfuge and evasion. He'd gotten more out of her just making casual conversation at lunch.

He could take that angle again, take her out and play the concerned friend. She could use the shoulder, she'd said as such. But he was hesitant. She'd kissed him, and it hadn't been a simple show of gratitude. No, in her inebriation she'd inadvertently tipped her hand. There was something there that she hadn't alluded to before and it made Nathan nervous. He'd been in that situation before, with Parker.

Parker. No, _Audrey_. The thought of her made his stomach clench. He'd gotten close to her, and just how did that play out? With the girl kidnapped and his heart broken, that's how. It scared him to risk taking that step again with Lola.

But he needed to be honest with himself. He'd felt something too, it hadn't been just her. Hell, he'd felt a pull to her ever since he'd laid eyes on her. His time as a cat had only cemented that bond between them. His suspicions aside, they were connected. He could feel her touch. That wasn't coincidence, or was it?

Which brought up another point: why hadn't Audrey come back yet? The Troubles were here, and yet her face had yet to resurface. Which made him wonder, was Lola the new Audrey? Was she her replacement? Even though Audrey's face had been the same every time she'd appeared in Haven in the past, there was the possibility that her luck had finally run out and she was gone for good. It made him sick just thinking about it, but he had to consider each and every possibility. He'd be remiss in his investigative skills if he didn't.

But none of these questions solved the problem at hand. Should he or shouldn't he approach her? His head said yes, he needed to figure out what was going on. It was his duty, especially if it would possibly threaten the citizens of Haven. After all, there was somebody Troubled out there that had the ability to mess with memories. Who knows what could happen if that was left unchecked. This Alex person had had no qualms using it on his little girl, so what could that mean for a complete stranger? The thought terrified him.

His gut, however, said no. He could scare her off, maybe even prompt her to leave town if things went wrong. That wasn't a risk he was willing to take. Especially now, he hated to admit, his feelings were tied up in this. Plus, he didn't know how he would act around her given what had happened. He was too close to be completely objective, and he knew it.

Nathan laid his forehead on his desk, sighing heavily. He was back to square one, with no clear direction. Screw frustrated, this went straight into plain aggravating.

He ultimately decided to sleep on it. His head and his heart weren't going to be in any sort of agreement any time soon, this was obvious.

* * *

"Have you read the Herald today?" one of his officers asked him out of the blue when he bumped into him at the coffee station. "Hell has completely frozen over."

Nathan raised an eyebrow; his mug of coffee paused halfway to his lips. He was pretty sure that he was going to come away with burnt lips and an equally burnt tongue with the amount of steam rising from the cup, but he desperately needed caffeine before he dived into any of today's business. "Excuse me?" He took a sip and then winced as the taste of singed flesh flooded his mouth. Yuck. There went any hope of enjoying lunch.

"Ella Martin and Reese Moran announced their engagement," his colleague informed him with almost unholy glee; looking especially pleased that he knew the latest, hottest gossip before the Chief of Police. "Looks like it isn't a prank, either. Completely legit from what I hear."

That wasn't the strangest thing he'd ever heard, but it was pretty unusual. It was no secret since they were kids, Ella and Reese had been sworn enemies. It was routine, actually, for Haven PD to be dragged into their frequent spats, the pair screaming each other and threatening bodily harm by the time they arrived. He'd heard of opposites attracting, but this seemed extreme even for that.

"Ella and Reese," Nathan said musingly. "Well, good for them for getting things finally worked out." Best to stay neutral, he thought.

"Pool's started as to how long it'll last before they're at each other's throats again," the officer told him. "Want in, Chief?"

"I'll pass, thanks," and mentally he shook his head. Sometimes, he really worried about the state of his station.

* * *

Despite having a fondness for her landlord's menu, occasionally Lola would go and try other local restaurants. Today found her at a charming little place called Benoit's. She had a weakness for bistro type food and so far she wasn't disappointed with the fare.

She was halfway into her meal when a shadow fell over her table. Pausing, she glanced up and found herself looking into the face of a friendly, smiling man, curly brown hair framing hazel eyes and a snub nose. Cute was Lola's first impression, cute and nonthreatening.

"Hi there," he said shyly, pushing his hair back behind one ear and shifting from foot to foot. "I couldn't help but notice you from across the room and wanted to say hi. I'm Shawn."

Lola was taken completely off guard but she recovered quickly. "It's nice to meet you, Shawn," she returned warmly. "I'm Lola."

"Can I...?" and he gestured to the seat across from her.

"Oh, sure," Lola invited, not wanting to be rude. She could use a few more friends here, and if someone was willing to approach her, who was she to turn it down?

For the rest of her meal she and Shawn proceeded to get to know one another and the longer they talked the more Lola grew to like her new acquaintance. He was a sweet guy. Shy, quiet. Free with the compliments, she noticed, as he complimented her shirt, her eyes, her hair. She was pretty sure he was feeling her out as a possible date, and she found herself kind of hoping he would ask. Most of her energies as of late had been focused on Nathan, and as attracted she was to Nathan she was getting the impression that emotionally he was quite unavailable. He had drawn back, hadn't been in her vicinity in at least a week and a half. Subtle inquiries of Duke revealed that most of the time she was just missing Nathan by mere minutes, and any other time she'd think it was mere coincidence. But no, it definitely wasn't, not after that night.

"So I was wondering," Shawn started, bringing her back to the present, "Would... Would you be willing to go out with me? O-on a d-date." He looked terrified, like the geek trying to ask the pretty popular girl out. But this wasn't high school and Lola definitely wasn't high on Haven's social ladder.

"I'd love to," Lola told him, and felt something inside her bloom warmly when his face lit up. "When?"

* * *

"I've never seen anything like it," the officer commented. If Nathan had a quarter for every time he had heard that uttered in this town, he'd be filthy rich. Instead he squatted down next to the body, careful not to disturb the scene.

"Certainly takes 'ripping your heart out' to a new level, doesn't it?" Nathan offered, examining the wound. The victim's heart had been literally ripped from her chest, the blood vessels looking like they had been stretched to their very limit before snapping under the tension. She lay in a large pool of her own blood, the size of it suggesting that she'd bled out almost her entire supply. Bone shards were everywhere, littering her chest cavity and the floor beside her.

"No kidding," the officer agreed, shaking his head. "Found the murder weapon under the workbench." He offered it to Nathan sealed in an evidence bag. The entire head of the hammer was bloodied, claw and all.

"Looks like he used the head to smash her sternum in and the claw to pry open her ribcage," Nathan speculated after looking over the tool. He paused to take in the woman's general appearance for a moment. She was a classic beauty, her face all sharp angles and smooth lines. Her rich brown hair was matted with blood, her generous lips parted and blue. It was a definite shame she'd met her end this way. "We got a name yet?"

The officer shook his head. "They're combing the house for some form of ID. Nothing yet."

"Contact me the moment you do," Nathan commanded, turning to head to his truck. "I have a few stops to make." He took several long strides towards the vehicle that was parked at the curb, stopping short as he spotted something tucked underneath one of the windshield wipers.

He approached much more cautiously, gently tugging the item from under the wiper carefully with a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket. At first glance it had looked like an advertisement but up close it had been revealed to be a photograph, a male between fifteen and twenty years of age working a cash register. It looked like it had been taken from a distance, most likely with a DSLR with a telephoto lens given the clarity of the image. Paper clipped to the bottom of it was a printed note, in twelve point Arial.

_The timer starts now._

* * *

"Medium caramel macchiato with extra vanilla?" the barista called out and Lola stood from the table where she'd been waiting for her coffee and stepped over to retrieve it.

"Thanks," she told her with a kind smile, then paused. "Where's Evan? Does he have the day off?"

The barista shook her head. "Up and quit last week," she informed her, and Lola's eyes widened in shock. The barista nodded sadly, a knowing look in her eyes. "Completely unexpected, I know. Nobody was happy to see him leave. He was definitely a favorite with the customers."

"I'm really sorry to hear that," Lola said sadly, and bid the barista a good day when she turned to help the next customer.

She stepped back from the counter, her mind occupied mulling over the information she'd just received and absently backed away even further to allow for someone coming through. The movement caused her to bump into the person stirring cream into their coffee at the condiment station behind her. Lola turned to apologize only to come face to face with Nathan.

"Oh! I'm so sorry," she told him quickly, feeling her face flush. "Hello, Nathan. I didn't mean to run into you like that."

He lifted a shoulder nonchalantly, throwing away the coffee stirrer and replacing the lid on his cup. "Happens," he told her, lifting the cup but pausing as if reconsidering.

Lola had seen the steam rising from the cup and quelled the urge to take the cup from him to test the temperature. They stood there in awkward silence for a few moments, before she decided to go ahead and break the standoff. "How... how are you?"

"Busy," he replied, leaning against the bar. His stance was still coming off as a little defensive, and she forced herself to not draw notice to it lest she alienate him further. "Lot of cases coming in. You?"

"A lot of loose ends I had to take care of back home," she admitted openly, taking a sip of her coffee. A little too hot, but not enough to burn her lips. "I thought I was going to only be here a few weeks, max. Since it looks like I've moved here for the time being, I had to shuffle a few things and start hunting for a job. Nothing that's a huge hassle, thank goodness." She paused when she saw something flare in his eyes and decided to take a chance. "Looks like you're stuck with me for a while yet," she added, smiling a little self-consciously.

"Well, we're happy to have you," and Nathan let a corner of his lips turn up. It gave Lola a boost of confidence, a fuller, wider smile spreading over her face. She opened her mouth to reply when a voice came from behind her.

"Lola!" a male voice addressed her happily and Lola barely kept herself from startling visibly. She slowly turned around to greet Shawn's smiling face, tamping down slightly uneasy feeling that rose to the surface. Oh, this was awkward.

"Shawn," and she struggled to keep her own smile on her face. Since her back was turned, she missed the barest flash of jealousy in Nathan's eyes. "Shawn, this is Chief Wuornos," and she gestured with her coffee cup, turning her body back toward Nathan. "Nathan, this is Shawn. He's—"

"Her date tonight," Shawn cut in, his smile painfully wide as he stepped closer to Lola. "I get the privilege of taking this gorgeous lady out tonight. Lola, did I tell you how beautiful you look today? Absolutely stunning."

Lola was taken slightly aback at Shawn's forwardness but kept her composure. Nathan raised his eyebrows almost imperceptibly at her, and she returned it with a slightly mollified quirk of her own.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it tonight, definitely," Lola said quickly, almost a little too quickly. She was definitely feeling unnerved by this point and was struggling to hide it. "But I'm afraid I must be going, have things to attend to. Nathan," she nodded, and Nathan nodded in return.

"See you around," he told her neutrally, and Lola began to make her way towards the door. Only, it seemed that Shawn was determined to stick with her, as he followed her out like a puppy.

"Can I walk you to your car? Oh, maybe we can meet a little earlier for some coffee before our date?" he suggested hopefully. "Did you like the flowers I sent?"

Lola's unease increased with all the questions. But she supposed that he was just eager, and so she laughed lightly to cover her thoughts. "They were lovely," she told him, giving him a smile. "And I'm afraid I can't; I'm booked right up until our date. But I'll see you at seven, okay?" she told him kindly, and he nodded rapidly in response.

"Absolutely! Can't wait. I'll see you then!" he grinned and as suddenly as he was there he was leaving.

Lola stood there and watched him go, biting her lip. It wasn't the first time since she'd agreed that she'd felt a slight pang of regret. Was this a good idea after all? She didn't know. But a promise was a promise. Right?

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she failed to see Nathan standing at his truck, having witnessed the entire exchange.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter summary: **_Nathan wrestles further with his feelings and the threat of a killer on the horizon, Lola's life takes a terrifying turn, Duke is an awesome friend._

**Notes:** It's only going to get worse from here on out, folks.

As always, follows, faves, and reviews will be squeed upon sight. ;)

* * *

Something about it didn't seem right.

Okay, so he had to admit that after avoiding her for a week and a half, it wasn't nearly as awkward as he thought talking to her again. Even with the time and the distance she'd still been her sweet, kind self... and then moment had been ruined when he found out she had a date in the worst way possible: meeting the guy she was going on said date with. He wasn't jealous; it's not like he had any claim on her.

But the whole thing seemed... off. The guy was eager, yes, but in a way that set off warning bells in his head. Couple that with watching Lola firmly but gently setting a boundary and then seeing her visibly hesitate once his back was turned? He was worried. His gut was warning him that this had the potential to turn very nasty very fast.

It wasn't his place, however, to interfere directly, especially if Lola hadn't asked for the help. That was crossing a big line, one that even as Chief of Police he could get in big trouble over and based on something as little as a hunch. What kind of example would he be setting if he was trying to bend the rules, rationalize something in the name of being a good friend? No, it was a very bad idea.

The kid was right about one thing, though. She'd looked absolutely beautiful. Even while professing how busy her life had been as of late, he couldn't help but be captivated by the animated way she talked, how her eyes sparkled, how even when he was walling himself off she was still reaching out to him.

_Admit it, Wuornos, you're jealous_.

He knew he'd come off as downright cold to her, but he just couldn't open himself to her. His head and his heart were still at war with each other. It seemed things had only grown worse with the distance, and he had many times found himself yearning to reach out to her, to let her in like he had before. He trusted her, right?

He didn't trust himself, however. He was still too close, closer yet if his reactions to her today had any indication. Add in the fact that he still had a lot of questions still left unanswered and who knows how he'd act around her if he got the two of them alone. Bad enough that the entire time she'd been talking his mind had been drifting towards the feel of her soft, full lips pressed against his, the scent of her perfume in his nostrils. He'd itched to pull her into his arms again and just bury himself in the experience of her. And that, he knew, was completely unacceptable.

Somewhere in the back of his head he could hear Duke teasing him about being Lola's white knight, and the very thought made him scowl. But, he had to admit, the label wasn't entirely inaccurate. He knew that if push came to shove, he'd be right there to save her. He hadn't been able to save Audrey, but he sure as hell could try to save Lola.

There was one thing he could do, though, and that was to keep watch. It wasn't interfering directly and if Lola did need his help, he would be there. He owed her at least that much, given what she had done for him in the past.

He picked up the photo with its paper clipped note, sealed securely in an evidence bag, studying the image of the boy working his cash register yet again. He knew that he had more important matters to worry about than his sort of love interest, but he had been getting next to nowhere combing over what few leads they'd had given the photograph and had needed the break.

The only thing that had popped was a series of what had deemed to be mob hits in New York City strung out over the course of a few decades, left with similarly written notes and identically composed shots. The other connecting factor was every victim had the same postmortem injury – the middle finger of the left hand cut off to the second knuckle – that had been recognized as the signature of a hit man known only as The Eraser. There had been no arrests, no fingerprints to speak of on any of the crime scenes, not even a possible visual on them. They were essentially a ghost; they didn't even know if they were dealing with a male or a female. Profiling had speculated he was male, given the setup and execution of the kills, but that was simple conjecture. The shrinks only knew so much, the rest of it was left up to the detectives. Given the case files he'd browsed, they didn't have much more than even that.

The whole thing disturbed him on a primal level. Haven was not equipped to deal with something as serious as a professional killer. Add to that the prospective perp had no problems taunting the police – and in this case, the Chief of Police – and they potentially had a very dangerous, volatile situation on their hands.

All he had was circumstantial evidence, very shaky evidence at that. He didn't have any dead bodies to prove his theory as of yet, not that he wanted any of course. This kid, this potential target, needed to be protected. He'd have to move him to a secure location and make sure nothing leaked. If this kid died, protocol dictated he'd have to call the Feds in given the multistate connection. But given his prior track record with the Feds personally and their involvement in anything related to Haven meant they had the perfect recipe for disaster on their hands. He needed to avoid that at all costs.

He rubbed at his temples, certain that if he could feel it he'd have a raging headache. Between the mess with Lola and this threat, he definitely had a full plate. He just worried that in the thick of things; something might slide and cost him.

But he'd start, he thought, sitting back in his chair and replacing the photo on his desk, by getting this young man to a safe house and ordering a tail on Lola. It was the best he could do in both situations.

* * *

Lola spent more time than she needed to get ready for the date, lingering over her choice of outfit, her hair, her makeup. She tried convincing herself that the nagging feeling she had was just simple nerves, that she was simply invested in trying to look her best and please her date. But she couldn't ignore the fact that Shawn's behavior had been strange. Yes, that was a good word. Strange. He'd been overly eager, sticking to her in a slightly creepy way when she left the coffee shop. Furthermore, had it been real coincidence that he'd run into her there? She wondered if maybe he was afraid of losing his chance with the girl due to bad luck in his love life previous to this. Or maybe he was just that interested in her that he didn't want his chance with her to escape him.

He'd gone overboard on gifts in the meantime. Large arrangements of flowers delivered daily, dozens of cupcakes delivered when she'd let slip that those were her favorite. And the phone calls. She'd taken the first few, but eventually she'd let the rest go to voicemail. Then he wouldn't stop texting her, and those she left unanswered as well.

She wished she could call Nathan and get his take on things. But that was ridiculous. For one, that was taking advantage of him. Just because he was a cop and dealt with situations that required serious judgment didn't mean that he needed to weigh in on her piddly, insignificant dilemma. Besides, given their recent history, it would be just plain cruel. The last thing she needed to do was rub another man's interest in her in his face. What kind of woman would that make her? A terrible one, that's what.

She would just have to see how this date went, now wouldn't she? After this was said and done, then she could pass judgment. That was the smart thing to do, she thought. And if it didn't go well, that's when she could go to Nathan. She'd have enough reason to approach him and get him involved.

A short while later found her walking into the restaurant that Shawn had chosen. It looked rather expensive just by glancing at the decor, something tightening in Lola's gut at the observation. She didn't have much time to ponder it, as Shawn came walking up just then.

"You look even better than I would have ever imagined," he breathed, awe and reverence in his gaze as he took in Lola from head to toe. She forced herself not to read too much into it, simply giving him a smile. Shawn's eyes eventually traveled back to hers, and the glint in them made her chest go a little tight. "You really are the most beautiful woman I've ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on. You are a goddess."

"You are a flatterer, that's what," Lola laughed lightly, playing it off as it not being a big deal to her. "Shall we?"

"Of course!" Shawn was all eager puppy, taking her arm as they were led over to their table. It was the first time he'd touched her, and something about his touch made her skin crawl in a not so good way. Oh dear. That was not a good sign.

He slid a chair out for her and took the seat across once she was seated. His eyes were bright, excited. Almost manic. Lola swallowed and buried her face in her menu to cover her expression and avoid eye contact.

"I'm ordering the best wine they have," Shawn announced. "We're celebrating! I've found the loveliest lady in Haven and she deserves only the best. White or red?"

"Whatever you like," Lola blurted, barely keeping herself from stumbling over her words.

"I insist," Shawn told her, something in his tone sending a chill down her spine. "White or red?"

"White," Lola conceded, trying not to add the mental 'I guess' to the end of that statement. Something told her he wouldn't take that well.

"Excellent," he proclaimed, and proceeded to order a bottle of champagne that she was sure she did not want to know the price tag of. Shawn stared her down expectantly until she obediently took a sip of the bubbly wine, making sure to praise the choice highly. She wondered if she could spend the rest of the meal barely wetting her lips with the alcohol, as she wanted the clearest head possible to drive.

When it came time to order their food, Lola opened her mouth to input her choice when Shawn cut in, ordering for the both of them. Despite her fear, she was more than a little indignant by this point, as the level of control he was exerting over the situation was infuriating. If she hadn't been getting the vibes she currently was over his behavior, she would chalk the entire date up to the guy being a complete chauvinist asshole and leave it at that.

As they waited for their meals, Shawn folded his hands and smiled pleasantly at her. "You haven't been taking my calls or responding to any of my text messages. Are you mad at me?"

Lola swallowed but managed a smile. "I've just been busy, Shawn," she deflected. "I've had a lot going on." It was mostly the truth, but he didn't need to know that.

"And the gifts. Are they not to your liking?" he inquired, frowning.

"They're lovely. But you don't have to go to such lengths. Really," and she kept the pleading tone that wanted to escape out of her tone.

"Well, I guess I'm going to have to try harder to impress you, now won't I?" he beamed, and Lola fought the urge to squirm.

She barely touched her dinner, which elicited another round of questions from him about her behavior, which given her position were nearly impossible to answer without giving something away.

She was trapped. She had let him corner her and now she didn't know how to escape.

* * *

She wouldn't let Shawn see her home, as much as he insisted and at the very end, almost threatened after she told him that things weren't going to work out between the two of them. She was glad that she'd insisted on meeting him at the restaurant instead of allowing him to pick her up; it was a blessing he didn't know where she lived.

She fled to her car as fast as she could; driving quickly away before he could see what direction she'd gone. Pounding up the stairs, she rushed into her apartment and quickly locked the door, throwing her back against it. She closed her eyes and took deep, even breaths, willing her body to stop shaking.

It had gone worse than she thought. Shawn posed a real threat to her safety and there was no denying that she needed to bring others on it now. But who was the real question. The obvious answer was Nathan, of course. Nathan would want to know about this. Never mind the distance between them currently, his devotion to the law demanded it.

But as she was thinking things through, her hands were fumbling her phone out of her purse and putting a call in to someone who was definitely not Nathan.

Less than five minutes after making the call, a knock sounded at the door, Duke's voice floating through it. "Lola? You in there?"

Lola raced to the door and let Duke in, immediately locking it back after letting him in. He took one look at her and manhandled her toward the couch, sitting her down. "You look completely scared out of your mind. What's going on?"

It took Lola several tries before she could calm down enough to force words out. "I-I... Stalker. Date. My date is stalking me."

"Whoa, wait, what?" Duke squeezed her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "Stalker. You said stalker. Right?"

Lola nodded rapidly, her pupils a little too wide as the rest of the story spilled out in a torrent. "He's called me every day, multiple times a day. Asking me what my favorite flowers are, what cupcakes I like from Rosemary's. If we can meet for coffee and if I was too busy, what was my coffee order so he could bring me some? And if he's not calling, he's texting. Constantly complimenting me, telling me that seeing me makes his day... and what freaks me out about that is, I— I haven't actually seen him aside from running into him while talking to Nathan today at the coffee shop, and the date we went on tonight." She swallowed, her face pale. "I should have followed my gut and stopped things before they got out of control. Now... now I don't know if I'm going to be able to get rid of him."

She wrapped her arms around herself, shaking. "I messed up. God, did I mess up. I shouldn't have ever rationalized his actions or gave him the benefit of the doubt. I'm going to end up hurt or worse, and I don't know what to do."

Duke sighed heavily. "I can't believe I'm about to suggest this considering who it is but, tell Nathan. Don't keep this from him. You need the cops involved, Lola."

Lola bit her lips. Duke was right. But in her emotional state she questioned her own gut feelings about bringing in Nathan. She'd been completely wrong about Shawn, why should she trust her judgment now? Their interactions from earlier that day played through her mind and she was half convinced that she should bypass Nathan entirely and just take it to the police in general. "I don't know, Duke."

"Look." Duke dropped his hands from her shoulders, staring into her eyes. "Nathan's always had trust issues. You know this by now; you've seen things between me and Nathan. Give him a reason to doubt that trust and you'll never win it back." He tilted his face down to give his stare a little more weight. "Don't keep secrets from him. Tell him."

"In the morning," Lola murmured, looking down and off to one side, unable to look Duke in the eye anymore. "I... not tonight. I..." and she looked around the apartment, her fear and general unease rolling off of her in waves. She was terrified that Shawn would find her here.

"Tell you what," Duke said, interrupting. "I normally wouldn't make this offer, but I like you. How about you crash at my place for the night? If you're scared about stalker guy getting you here. Which judging by your expression you definitely are."

"You'd... do that for me?" Lola's voice was pitiful. "I... thank you. You don't have to do that."

"Sure I do," Duke smirked, getting to his feet. "Nathan would kill me if you ended up hurt. Oh, and maybe we can lose that tail he put on you while we're at it."

If she wasn't in such a state of distress, she'd definitely have a few choice words on that.

* * *

Nathan was not having a good day. It started out with a call to a crime scene, a double suicide. He wouldn't know until the tox screen came back and the stomach contents analyzed, but he was pretty sure that the culprit was a mutual overdose. There had been no trauma to either body, which led credence to the theory that this was self-inflicted, no foul play involved.

Ella and Reese. Town gossip from just the few people he'd polled at the scene indicated that the couple had become increasingly paranoid since announcing their engagement, but no one had given any indication that said paranoia had been warranted. Despite the skepticism surrounding the end of their feud, people seemed genuinely happy for them if a little confused from the sudden change in their relationship.

Add to that was the report from the officer that he'd assigned to tail Lola during her date. He'd read the entire thing slowly, painstakingly paying attention to each detail. His chest tightened with worry with each page turned, but that tightness turned to a feeling of bitter betrayal when the end of the report stated that Duke had been seen entering Lola's apartment not long after she'd returned home.

She'd turned to Duke. Not him.

Nevertheless, he needed to call her. She would probably be highly indignant, even downright angry when she learned of the tail but she needed to know the amount of danger she was in. Obviously she knew already given her reactions, but he needed to drive the point home. At this point it didn't matter if he was personally involved or not. This was a police matter and needed to be handled as such.

He was picking up the phone to do just that when the subject of his thoughts appeared in the doorway of his office.

Slowly he put down the phone back in its cradle and made a steeple of his fingers on his desk. "Can I help you, Lola?" he asked calmly, masking his considerable worry over her state. Her face was drawn, her complexion pallid. She looked like she hadn't slept, a haunted look filling her eyes.

"I-I need to talk to you," she said shakily, twisting her fingers nervously. Nathan motioned to a chair, and Lola lowered herself into it jerkily. "I... I have a problem. That according to Duke, you probably already know about."

Nathan leaned forward in his chair. "I do," he nodded, keeping his voice light and neutral. He didn't want to add to that worrying state. "I was worried about you," he admitted. "I saw you and your date after you left the coffee shop. I got the impression that you had your reservations, so I had you tailed. I thought it better safe than sorry. Seems it ended up being the right move to make."

Lola nodded slowly. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I was initially angry, but I can't really be mad at you trying to look out for me. So again... thank you."

"Welcome," he nodded, and a hint of a smile played over his features. As they were talking, he could see Lola relaxing in increments, placing her trust back in him. Hope filled him, warmth blooming inside as the feelings of betrayal started to bleed away. "I do have one question though... why did you go to Duke first?"

"I needed a sounding board," Lola told him, looking down at her hands in her lap. "With how strained things have been between us, I didn't want to just assume you'd be willing to help me."

Ah, the elephant in the room had finally been addressed. Nathan resisted the urge to rub his chin nervously. "I know," he said simply. "Things have been..." and he struggled to find the right word.

"Weird," Lola supplied, her expression faintly wry. "Yes, things have been weird between us lately. It was completely my fault and I'm sorry about that. But can we table that for now? I don't want to get hurt and I'm pretty sure you don't want to see me get hurt."

Once again, an olive branch was being extended. But he would have never guessed that this time he would be the one on the receiving end. "Consider it tabled," he replied, nodding. "We should focus on your problem. The sooner we have a police report filed and a restraining order in place, the better."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter summary:** _Nathan gets leads on his cases, Lola gets into further trouble._

**Notes:** Hope you guys are enjoying the story up to this point. I want to thank you, my readers, for sticking with me.

Next chapter is going to be sort of a super chapter, longer than usual. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to stick what has seemingly become my posting schedule (one chapter a week) because Chapter 12 is coming sort of slow (it's shaping up to be another super chapter due to the content). Toss me a PM and tell me what you think. If the demand is there, I'll post. Want to keep you guys happy, after all. :)

And as always, your follows, faves, and reviews are vastly appreciated and squeed upon sight. :D

* * *

"_Took ya long enough to get here."_

_"Yeah, well, Eve doesn't loan me out to just anyone."_

_"True enough. Let's get this over with. The sooner this is cleaned up, the better."_

_"You took care of the hard part already, it looks like."_

_"I think you have the harder job." The man – solidly built with dirty blond hair falling around his face – glanced over at the little girl cowering in the corner, large eyes bright with fear as she sat there with her arms wrapped tight around her spindly legs. Her outfit was caked with dirt and spattered with blood, the blue floral tank top and sky blue shorts embroidered with daisies having seen much better days. She was missing a shoe, and her ponytailed hair looked like it hadn't seen a brush in days. His gaze softened sympathetically and it was with care and caution that he crossed the dirt floor of the barn, crouching next to her. "Hey, kiddo. You all right there?"_

_The girl stared back silently, curling into herself tighter._

_"We're not going to hurt you. Promise. We're the good guys. Right, Vito?" He looked back at his companion, who had stuck his hands in his pockets as he watched the two of them._

_"Right." He flashed a reassuring smile, white teeth flashing brightly against olive skin. "We're going to make everything better." He made a motion with his eyes and the first man stood, stepping back to let the other approach._

_"We're going to take you back to your dad, okay?" he said softly, kneeling in front of her. The girl straightened almost imperceptibly, a modicum of hope flaring in her eyes. The two men exchanged glances, and the second man reached out a hand. "But there's something we have to do first, sweetheart. I promise it won't hurt."_

_The little girl shrank back, and he paused. "Hey, hey. It's going to be okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to help." He reached out a second hand, placed his palms against her temples before she could react further._

_And everything went blank._

* * *

"Lola? Lola, are you okay?" The concerned voice of one of her fellow teachers pierced through the haze, and Lola blinked a few times to bring her eyes back into focus. "You blanked out there; do we need to take you to the nurse?"

Lola rubbed her forehead, disconcerted by what had just stormed her consciousness. "No, no, I'm fine. Didn't sleep well the night before and got a little overwhelmed there for a second," and she gave Emily an apologetic smile. "It's... it's been a rough week."

"Do you need to go home for the rest of the day?" she queried worriedly. "I can get Olivia to watch your class if need be."

"No, no it's fine," Lola insisted. "I just need a few minutes."

"If you're sure," Emily said, looking skeptical.

Lola gave her a weak smile, exiting the teachers' lounge and heading back to her classroom. It was true; it had been a rough week. Add to that she wasn't used to teaching second graders and she was more than a little overwhelmed. She'd been lucky that a temporary position had opened up at one of the elementary schools. Her savings had all but been exhausted and she had been looking for work as a waitress or something similar to make ends meet. But she was glad to be teaching again; she had sorely missed it.

Once back at her desk, she searched her purse for some painkillers for her head and found none. Looking at the clock, she decided she had enough time to run out to her car and look for a bottle there. Her mind was elsewhere pondering the images she had seen when the crunch of broken glass against the asphalt beneath her feet a few feet away from her car stopped her in her tracks.

The sight of her car window smashed in tore a cry of dismay from her throat. Approaching apprehensively while pulling her cell phone from her pocket, she once again paused when something inside the car caught her eye.

An arrangement of orange lilies and red carnations sat innocently on the driver's side seat amidst the broken glass littering it. Under any other circumstances Lola would admire the beauty of the bouquet, but this was anything but beautiful. This had her stalker written all over it.

Images of her students getting caught in the crossfire assaulted her mind and she instinctively stepped back from the car, hurriedly dialing Nathan's personal cell.

"He's struck again," Lola said into the phone, sounding on the verge of tears. "I-I'm at school. He smashed in my car window and left flowers."

"Stay right there," Nathan commanded her. "I'm on my way."

* * *

"I'm kind of sick of filing police reports," Lola sighed, signing her name to the last form and putting the pen down.

"The more evidence we have against him, the better," Nathan reminded her, reaching for the paperwork and sticking it in the manila folder labeled with her case number on it. "One of these days he'll slip up and we'll catch him in the act."

"In the meantime, I'm going to continue to be completely terrified," Lola gave him an uneasy laugh.

It made Nathan's heart hurt hearing that. Strange and conflicting feelings about her aside, she was a friend. He had the means to keep her safe and he would do everything in his power to ensure that. He just hoped it would be enough.

"Hey, Chief?" One of the officers barreled into the office and stopped short when he saw Lola sitting in front of his desk. "Oh, am I interrupting something?"

Nathan gave the interloper a withering glare. He could read the expression on the patrolman's face and he had to admit, it grated at him. Station gossip pegged Lola as Nathan's love interest, possibly secret girlfriend with how much attention he paid to her. While it was true that he gave her more time than he did anyone else, he told himself it was because she was still an outsider. She needed that extra help, that extra buffer against the strangeness that was Haven. "No. What is it?"

The officer glanced uneasily at Lola before continuing. "Finally got ID on the heart victim. Isabella Cole, age 26. She was last seen at Benoit's in an argument with her boyfriend. We've brought him in for questioning; he's ready for you whenever you have a free moment."

"I'll be there in a few minutes," Nathan told the patrolman, and he nodded once and disappeared from sight.

"Benoit's," Lola commented, frowning. "That's where I met Shawn. I was having lunch there when he approached me."

"Really?" Nathan's eyebrows shot up. "Seems like a coincidence but—"

"—it probably isn't," Lola finished for him, looking grave.

* * *

It was never a coincidence in Haven.

On paper it looked to be an open and shut case, but Nathan knew there was more to it than that. Lola had told him everything that had happened the day she met Shawn, but couldn't recall who was working other than her server. The interrogation of the boyfriend yielded even more than that; he had seen his girlfriend talking with another man at the bar and had been gripped with an inexplicable, overwhelming bout of jealousy that had resulted in the confrontation that killed her. He'd been horrified by what he had done, and kept swearing during the entire interview that it was like he had snapped out of a trance after she was dead.

Between the two events, he finally had a solid lead.

He hit the restaurant after the lunch rush and asked to speak with the manager, who looked annoyed to be talking to the police.

"I heard about that girl who got her heart torn out, but what does this have to do with my restaurant?" he asked impatiently, crossing his arms.

"We have reason to believe there's a connection concerning two of our cases. I'd appreciate it if you could give me a list of who was working on these two dates," Nathan asked politely, masking his irritation at the lack of cooperation. Really, this guy couldn't put two and two together?

The manager continued his huffing and puffing, muttering about how much Nathan was putting him out, but he got his list. It just so happened that the server that Lola named was working that day, and convinced the young man to take his break so he could speak to him.

"Yeah, I remember her, she's a really pretty lady," the server – Andrew – commented with a hint of a blush coloring his cheeks. "Came in on a Saturday, alone. Looked pretty sad until the guy approached her." He cleared his throat nervously, looking a little sheepish as if he had been caught. "Girl like that, you'd think she'd have a boyfriend. But I caught a bit of their conversation and he definitely asked her out on a date." He paused. "I wasn't his waiter, Addie had his table. But he was staring at her the entire time and you could tell the longer he looked at her the more interested he was. I thought it was a little creepy, really."

It didn't help his personal anxiety concerning Lola but it was definitely helping him build his case. "Thanks, Andrew. We'll be in touch if we have any more questions."

There were several names on the list of people that had worked both days in question, but only one other happened to be working that afternoon. Unfortunately for him they had been working the wrong shifts, so he thanked them and exited the restaurant.

As he was heading back to his truck his cell phone rang. "Wuornos."

"Got another case for you, Chief," he was informed by the detective on the other end. "A body found in the alley behind Liquid Bean. You're gonna wanna see this."

Nathan bit off the curse that wanted to escape. Damn it. "I'm on my way."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later found Nathan staring down at the body of Evan Knight with a sick feeling in his stomach. His worst suspicions had been confirmed; this body had The Eraser's handiwork written all over it. Two clean bullet holes precisely in the middle of the forehead had been the cause of death, but instead of the left middle finger cut off, it was the right middle.

He was puzzled by that. Why the change? If this was indeed The Eraser and not a copycat, the composition would be identical. But could The Eraser be changing it up to throw them off? Nathan wasn't sure.

"This was found tucked underneath one hand," the detective told him, handing him another photograph sealed inside an evidence bag.

Nathan studied it closely, feeling dismay wash over him. Another high quality, beautifully composed shot. This one was of a woman outside a school; purse slung over one shoulder and a large backpack over the other. Keys were in one hand and she was squinting against the sun, completely oblivious to the fact she was in the crosshairs of a serial killer's camera.

He recognized the teacher; it was Emily Page, a third grade teacher at McMahon Elementary. What could an elementary school teacher have to do with a barista?

He turned the photo over and sure enough, there was another note paper clipped to it.

_One down, three to go. Tick tock, Chief._

The bastard was deliberately toying with him and it sent a sharp surge of anger through him. But what was more worrisome was he couldn't remember if he'd done anything to protect the boy. He struggled to recall and came up blank. It was as if somehow, the knowledge had been sucked right out of his head. Regardless, this asshole had waltzed in and nabbed this guy right out from underneath his nose. That just pissed him off that much more.

This time, he'd send the potential victim out of state. He had a few underground contacts he could tap, a few holdovers from a time in his life where he wasn't as worried about sticking to the letter of the law as he was now. He had Parker's disappearance to blame for that, but then again he could blame a lot on Parker's disappearance. Traumatic didn't begin to cover it.

_Focus, Wuornos. _He wasn't going to get anywhere if he started thinking about her. She wasn't here to assist him; he was completely on his own. He missed having a partner to bounce theories off of, these days he had to rely completely on his own judgment, his own gut.

"Wrap it up," he ordered the detective, who nodded. "I want the report on my desk by five. This case takes priority."

"On it, boss," the detective promised, looking confused but not questioning it.

* * *

"Been awhile, Lola," Eden commented from behind her computer, hands pausing on the keyboard as Lola pushed open the door of the Herald. She glanced up briefly before she returned to her typing, pushing back from her desk after a few moments and giving Lola her complete attention. "Thought you might have left town without saying goodbye."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Lola said sincerely, crossing over to take one of the chairs in front of Eden's workstation. "There's been, uh... a lot going on." She pushed a hand through her hair as the other gripped the arm of the chair so hard her knuckles turned white, unaware that she was giving off clear tells with her posture and her nervous gestures.

Eden didn't miss it. She leaned back in her chair, arms crossing. "Hey. You need to talk?" Her face was set, definitely looking like she wasn't about to take no for an answer.

"I don't want to—" Lola began and Eden cut her off.

"Lola. I care about you, you're a friend. Tell me what's going on; I might be able to help." She leaned forward, her expression fierce.

Lola slumped further in her seat. "This guy asked me out on a date," she began, looking tired. "Cute, looked like a really nice guy, right? The type you'd want to bring home to your parents if things panned out." She sighed, her hands having dropped her lap to pick at her skirt. "Well, the guy went overboard. At least a dozen phone calls a day, countless text messages. And the gifts. Flowers, candy, you name it. Not to mention her was following me." Lola rubbed her forehead as Eden's eyes widened a bit. "This was all before the first date. I should have canceled but I didn't. Huge mistake. Guy was a total nightmare and now I have myself a stalker."

"Oh god, Lola," Eden said, hushed and gentle. "I would have never guessed. Have you gone to the police?"

Lola nodded. "Took it to Nathan the next day, filed a police report and got a restraining order. Not that it's done much help; he's still being a creep. Guy vandalized my car."

Eden looked completely horrified. Lola sighed again and nodded. "I can barely sleep or eat, can barely concentrate at school." Eden looked confused and Lola realized that her friend didn't know. "Oh, I got a job at one of the elementary schools. I'm substituting for an Isabella Cole for the rest of the year. It's second grade, not my usual grade level but a job's a job, you know."

"Isa was good woman. Shame what happened to her," Eden noted. Lola looked intrigued but to her disappointment, Eden didn't expand upon it. "So, have you found out any more about that picture of you and Audrey?"

Lola bit her lip and weighed how much she wanted to tell her friend. "My dad knows more than he's letting on," she admitted. "I tried to press him for more information and he evaded. The most I could get out of him that he was trying to protect me from something, something he said 'was bigger than us'. I have no idea what he was talking about. The only real danger I've been in has been this stalker guy. Otherwise, my stay here so far has been pretty quiet."

"Are you going to try to get more out of him?" Eden asked curiously, folding her hands on top of the desk. "Cause I gotta say, this sounds like a pretty big deal."

"I don't know how," Lola said, looking defeated. "I've hit a wall. Duke Crocker has been passing around a photo of my dad and asking if they recognize him, but either nobody remembers him or they do and they just don't want to tell. I don't know who to ask about Audrey Parker, either. Both Duke and Nathan are reluctant to talk about Audrey, so I haven't approached them. And all I've been getting from Nathan these days are memories of old cases. Audrey's in a lot of them but it doesn't tell me much. Sometimes they talk about this woman named Lucy Ripley but it's mostly in passing. Mostly they were focused on helping the Troubled." She toyed with the necklace around her neck, a pretty ornate silver locket with a diamond-shaped blue stone set in the middle of the scrollwork. "I don't know, Eden. I'm afraid if I try to press too hard with my dad he'll come to Haven and force me to come home. I wouldn't put it past him. He's always been protective of me, maybe overprotective in some cases."

She sighed, shook her head. "Add to the fact I had this strange vision the other day and I don't know if I can make sense of things."

"A vision?" Eden queried.

"Yeah, a vision. Two men are talking about cleaning up something. They approach this little girl who's absolutely scared out of her mind, and they're telling her about how they're not going to hurt her. Then one of them touches her and then everything goes white." Lola shook her head again. "It was so weird. Normally if I see memories, it's while I'm asleep. This is the first time I saw something while awake."

"Maybe it's just stress-induced. Making your Trouble go a little haywire. Could have grabbed a memory from someone else and didn't realize it," Eden suggested, looking earnest.

Lola let out a breath, smiling a little. "Yeah, maybe that's all it is. Thanks, Eden, for letting me talk things out."

"It's what friends do," she said warmly, returning the smile.

"I have a few things to do, so I'll see you later," Lola said, gathering her things and making her way toward the door.

"Don't be a stranger," Eden called to Lola's back as she left.

Eden waited until she was out of sight before picking up the phone. She dialed a number, waited for the other party to pick up. "Hey, it's me." A pause. "Yeah. She was just here. You might want to speed things up a bit... it's coming back."

* * *

Lola's mind was elsewhere as she walked back to her rental car, stuck on little girls in barns and a certain blond haired cop. So when a figure rushed out from the side of a building and grabbed her, hand clamping over her mouth and dragging her out of sight, she never saw it coming.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter summary:** _A Trouble is revealed from an unexpected source, Lola recalls something shocking, and Nathan stumbles upon a secret._

_(And Duke continues to be awesome but sadly, not in this chapter.)_

**Notes: **There is a mild, vague, sexual abuse trigger warning in this chapter. More from a survivor POV but it's there nonetheless.

Enjoy superchapter #1, my wonderful readers. You guys got this update early because come to find out, I'm busy on my normal update days and I didn't want to make your guys wait till the end of the week. :)

This chapter begins what I've dubbed the '36 hours of hell' for Nathan and Lola. A LOT happens for our duo in a very short amount of time over the next few chapters.

And as always, your follows, faves, and reviews are vastly appreciated and squeed upon sight. :D

* * *

Lola kicked and struggled, attempting to bite the hand of her abductor and failing. Muffled screams poured from her throat as she was pulled back into the shadows of an alley, but try as she might she was trapped. She was at the whims of her captor.

"Shh. I'm not going to hurt you," a rough male voice assured her, his arms still banded tight around her. Lola stopped struggling in her surprise, immediately recognizing the voice.

It belonged to one of the men from the vision.

"I'm a friend, someone who's on your side," he continued, but didn't let her go. All she could see was heavily muscled arms through a tight shirt. "And I'm here to give you a message."

Lola went very still. A million thoughts flooded her mind at once. Was this man sent by her father? Was it someone who recognized the picture Duke was passing around the town? Or was it someone else entirely?

"Get out of town while you still can, Lola. They've found you. You should have never come here; you've put yourself in a lot of danger. If you don't, they could possibly succeed this time and Audrey's sacrifice would be for nothing." The man's voice was low, almost a whisper as if he was afraid of being overheard.

Her chest tightened with fear, with panic. What the hell was he talking about? Audrey's sacrifice? Who would possibly benefit from hurting her? She was a girl with a relatively benign Trouble; a nobody. All she wanted to know was why she was linked to this town and Audrey Parker in particular. Nothing more.

"Do it for her. She would want you safe," he whispered in her ear. "I'm going to let you go now. Don't tell anybody I talked to you. It's safer that way."

With that he released her and Lola whirled around, ready to face whoever had grabbed her. But she was alone in the alley with no sign that anyone had been there with her.

She let out a frustrated half-scream. All this subterfuge, all these questions with no clear answers were starting to get completely out of hand.

Couldn't something be clear-cut for once?

* * *

It took two days for Nathan to track the final name down on the list from Benoit's, which was the bartender. Both times he'd been back he'd polled the wait staff, with the second day finally paying off.

"Is Mason here?" he asked the hostess, who nodded and pointed towards the back. Nathan crossed the room to the bar, motioning to get the attention of the bartender. "Can I get a moment of your time?" he asked.

"Put your drink order in with your server, I'll get to it as soon as I can," Mason said, barely giving Nathan a glance.

Nathan cleared his throat and that got his attention, flashing his badge when he gave a second, closer look. He sighed and put down the wine glasses he'd been drying. "Can I help you, Chief?"

He slid photos of Shawn and Isabella Cole across the bar. Mason picked them up, studying them with a frown. "These two. Do you recognize them?"

"I guess?" He looked up, gave him a puzzled glance. "First guy, kind of. But I definitely remember this second one. She and who I guess was her guy were fighting in front of my bar and the manager had to escort them out. It got pretty nasty pretty fast."

Nathan nodded, glad that had panned out. "And these two?" He put the photocopy of Ella and Reese's engagement photo from the newspaper down on the bar. It was a shot in the dark, he knew, but it was worth trying.

The bartender blinked. "They were here too," he told him, glancing up and back down at the photo. He placed the other two next to the third, four smiling faces in a row. "Sitting at opposite ends of the bar, glaring each other down. Surprised the hell out of me when a week later I saw that picture in the paper. Never in a million years would I have pegged those two marrying each other."

Nathan's suspicions were definitely aroused. "Did you serve drinks to all four of them?" he asked, hoping that this final piece would fall into place.

Mason nodded slowly, his face creasing into a confused frown. "Pretty sure, why?"

Nathan suppressed the sigh that wanted to escape. "Mason, we're going to have to have a talk. Have you ever heard of the Troubles?"

* * *

The wardrobe sat innocuously in the corner since she moved in, dusty and unused. She'd only brought enough clothing to fit in a large suitcase, and they'd filled up the makeshift closet built into one wall.

But that had recently changed with her having paid a moving company to pack up and ship the rest of her stuff to Haven, much to her father's dismay. The action had prompted him to call and plead that she come home again. When it was met with Lola's continued refusal, the pleading then turned to outright demanding.

Naturally, Lola hung up on her father again.

She surveyed the dearth of boxes scattered on the floor of her apartment and let out a huge sigh. She decided that she'd start with her clothing and that meant cleaning out the old wardrobe.

As soon as she opened the doors, the room was suddenly filled with the smell of lilacs. It was so overpowering that Lola took a sudden, stumbling step back, her vision whiting out.

* * *

_"Lola, Lola. It's okay. Don't struggle; you'll hurt your wrists. Just stay still."_

_"I-I want my d-daddy."_

_"Shhh, sweetie. We'll get you back to him soon, okay? Just hang in there."_

_"I'm scared."_

_"I know, baby, I know. I won't let anything happen to you."_

_"P-Promise?"_

_"I promise. Hey, why don't we play a game? I'll tell you something about myself and then you tell me. What's your favorite flower? Mine's lilacs. I like how they smell."_

_"I like carnations. They're pretty." It was clear that Lola was latching desperately onto the game to distract herself, looking to Audrey with wide, scared eyes, tears still leaking down her little round face._

_They continued to trade little bits about themselves back and forth until suddenly a door slammed open, both girls startling from the noise. Lola let out a sob and Audrey gave her a long look that said, 'stay calm, don't draw attention to yourself'._

_The man stood in darkness, backlit from the light coming through the crack between the barn doors. "I've given you enough time. I want my answers," he said with a growl, the sound of footsteps coming closer to the pair. "I'm going to ask you one more time. How can the Troubles be ended? She saw how, and you're going to get her to tell you everything she knows."_

_"I'm not going to coerce a little girl into giving you what you want," Audrey spat. "I won't be used that way. _She_ won't be used that way."_

_The man chuckled darkly. "So, it seems the defender of the Troubled has changed her mind and put the worth of one girl above an entire town. Your partner would be disappointed in you. So many people suffering, just because of some misplaced feelings."_

_"You said it yourself, she's important. She deserves to be saved," Audrey countered. "She can accomplish what I failed to do."_

_"Such a large burden to be putting on such a little girl," their captor mocked. "Do you realize you're putting her life at risk?" Lola whimpered softly and Audrey cut her eyes over to the little girl again before refocusing on the outline of their captor, his face obscured due to the lack of proper light. "Do you want the death of this girl on your conscience?"_

_In the dim light, the set of Audrey's face was stony. "Isn't that counterproductive to your goal? She dies; you lose the information you want." A few feet away, Lola shook silently, terrified at the threat to her life. _

_The man crossed the room and cut the bonds securing Audrey to the support beam, keeping her hands bound and behind her back as he restrained her tightly against him. At close range it was revealed he was wearing a black ski mask, a pair of dark goggles over the mask to conceal his eyes. "Not until she gives me what I want and trust me, I _will _get what I want." Audrey struggled against her confinement and failed to loosen his hold on her. "You, however, Audrey Parker... you're expendable. You're not as important to the welfare of Haven as you've deluded yourself into thinking. You can be replaced."_

_"Don't hurt her!" Lola wailed, seeing her friend in danger as a flash of metal pierced the darkness, revealed to be a knife that their captor held to Audrey's throat. "I'll tell you everything!"_

_"Lola, no!" Audrey told her sharply. "That's what he wants! Don't tell him anything! You hear me? Anything!"_

_"You've got five seconds, little girl," the man pressed the knife harder into Audrey's neck, a gasp tearing from her throat making Lola whimper loudly. "Five... four... three..."_

_"NO!" Lola screamed shrilly. "DON'T HURT HER!"_

* * *

When her vision cleared, she found herself sitting on the floor, her head throbbing and tears flowing down her cheeks in rivers as she gasped for breath. She felt sick, and it was with much difficulty that she wobbled to her feet and lurched as quickly as she could to the bathroom, throwing up the contents of her stomach. Her entire body shook violently as her mind and body both struggled to reconcile what she'd just seen.

If she'd had that entire summer of memories ripped from her head, how could have she recalled this one? How could this particular one have been missed? It didn't make sense. If her father truly thought he was protecting her, why would he have left this one behind? To teach her a lesson? To frighten her back home? She was reeling, unable to process fully the significance of what had been revealed.

Her stomach pitched again and she hung onto the bowl, a wave of dizziness overtaking her as she fought to suppress it. It was too much. It was entirely too much. First her alleyway sort-of-abduction this morning and now this violent waking memory. If she thought yesterday had been the day from hell, she had been laughingly mistaken.

She stayed there until she felt well enough to rise to her feet again and make her way over to her sleeping area. Grabbing an oversized t-shirt from her dresser, she changed out of her clothes. Staggering over to the bed, she collapsed into it, staring at the ceiling with unseeing eyes until she slid into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

_"That's him. Number five."_

_Her young eyes were tired, too wary and worn to belong to a teenager. Though she projected calm, her hands were clenched at her sides to conceal their shaking, her posture a little too erect in an attempt to give the illusion of inner strength. But inside, she was terrified and it was taking everything she had to not show it._

_She knew that he couldn't see her through the one-way glass, but just looking at him made her skin crawl._

_"Are you a hundred percent positive?" the officer asked who had escorted her in, sounding as if he'd repeated the same line multiple times a day._

_The girl forced herself to stare at the face of her abuser through the glass. "Absolutely positive."_

_"Thank you, Miss Velasquez," the detective working the case said with a smile, one that didn't reach her eyes. "We'll be in contact with you if we require anything further. Officer Shepherd will escort you out."_

_Hand on her back, her father silently guided her from the room, not speaking until they were outside the station._

_"Are you sure you're okay, cielita?" her father inquired worriedly, hands on her shoulders._

_The teenager allowed herself to slump with the weight of her emotions, tears welling up and a sob ripping from her throat. "No," she managed to choke out before completely breaking down._

_"Oh baby," her father whispered, cradling his daughter tenderly. Once it seemed like she had cried herself out, he pulled away. "Let's get you home."_

_The girl nodded numbly, her eyes empty._

_During the car ride home the girl stared out the window with unseeing eyes, locked inside her own head. She'd managed to suppress most of what she had been feeling since the ordeal, even with the repeated attempts of the therapist her father had hired to get her to open up._

_But facing down her abuser brought them bubbling back to the surface, gripping her with unchecked terror and a pervading sense of shame. She should have never trusted him, never let him coerce her into doing things that made her uncomfortable. She should have trusted her gut. She should have told someone what was happening. It was all her fault, no matter what everyone around her had told her. It was all her fault. She had brought this upon herself._

_Tears ran unchecked down her face again as she struggled to shut out the images that played in her mind like mini movies, but they were too strong, too fresh, too vivid. Her skin prickled trying to shove away the feeling of phantom hands over places she didn't even touch herself, her stomach pitching warningly remembering whispered words and camera flashes._

_Over and over the images assaulted her, until the girl started screaming and couldn't stop._

* * *

The dream ripped Nathan out of sleep violently, sheer panic gripping him, a cry tearing from his throat. In all of his years as a cop, he had never felt a level of fear as overwhelming as he was feeling right now. The bed was soaked in his sweat, not that he could feel it. Every instinct inside of him screamed that Lola needed help. He needed to get to Lola, now.

Later on he wouldn't remember getting dressed, grabbing his weapon, or even climbing into his truck. He was driven by the gripping, overwhelming fear, his instincts and reflexes as a cop pushing him to race to her side, to shield her from harm.

He slammed the door of the truck, pounded up the stairs to bang loudly on Lola's door. "Lola?" he hollered, raising his fist to slam into the jamb again when suddenly a piercing scream of pure terror rent the silence. He didn't hesitate for a single second. He drew his weapon, broke down the door, and rushed inside.

* * *

_All Nathan could think about on the drive over was how happy he was. He'd taken a chance, asked Audrey to have dinner with him and it had paid off. His heart had squeezed in his chest when she'd responded shyly, sweetly to his question, and tried not to let his mind jump to conclusions when she told him she'd make pancakes. Despite that, he still stumbled over his speech as he tried not to let those thoughts show. He'd nearly made a total ass of himself in front of her and despite that, she still wanted to go through with it. He felt like the luckiest man alive._

_With a smile on his face, he parked his truck, checked his appearance in the rearview mirror, and strode up the stairs to Audrey's door._

_It was open. Granted, it was a nice day outside, but the minute he saw it he knew something was off._

_"Parker?" he called out, slipping inside. It only took one glance at the state of the apartment and immediately he was pulling out his firearm, his heart hammering with dread._

_"Parker?" he called out again, barreling into the room, dodging broken wineglasses and trashed place settings as he cased the place. His gaze swept over the scene, fear lodging tight and painful in his chest._

_She was gone. Someone had taken her._

_He looked around, assessing the damage to the room. His eyes searched for any clue as to who might be the culprit when an object next to the smashed plates caught his eye. Holstering his weapon, he bent down to pick it up._

_His heart stopped in his chest the minute he laid eyes on it. He would recognize that necklace anywhere, as he'd seen it almost every day hanging from the neck of one man._

_"Duke," he whispered gravely, gripping the whistle in his fist. He knew what he had to do, and he was going to waste no time doing it._

_He found the man in question on his boat, a cut crystal glass of whiskey dangling from his fingertips and a faraway expression on his face. Rage swamped him as he made his presence known, staring his adversary down coldly. "Where is she?"_

_Duke looked up, alarmed at his sudden appearance. He stood, the look on his face confused and clueless. "Where's who?"_

_"Audrey." He growled her name, stalking over to Duke, his hatred glittering blackly in his eyes. "What did you do with her?"_

_"She's missing?" The tone and expression of concern in Duke's voice and on his face seemed genuine, but Nathan wasn't going to be so easily tricked. "Nathan, I swear I didn't do anything to her." The look on Duke's face was intense, conviction in his voice._

_"You were in her apartment." Cold, hard fact. He knew he had his man, and he was going to pay._

_"No, I wasn't." Duke stared him down._

_He yanked the whistle from his pocket and held it up, never breaking his gaze. Duke glanced down briefly to see what he had and then looked back up into Nathan's eyes, horror dawning in his own. He began to immediately back up, holding up his hand with a guarded, cautious expression as if Nathan were about to snap. "Now think. Think." Nathan threw the whistle to the side, the object hitting the floor with a clatter. His patience was quickly running out. "Why would I hurt Audrey?"_

_"You've got five seconds." Nathan's hand started drifting towards his weapon. "Four." He advanced a step closer._

_Duke scoffed, as if he just couldn't believe what was happening or what Nathan was accusing him of. "Nathan, if I was going to hurt her—"_

_"Three." Nathan's voice began to rise and along with it, his temper. He'd had a short fuse to begin with but it was quickly burning down as Duke tried to weasel his way out of the situation, like he'd always done._

_"—I would have been waiting for you—"_

_His patience ran out. Nathan lunged at him and attempted to take him down, but Duke feinted to the right and hit the floor, rolling onto his back. It took all of two seconds for Nathan to draw his gun, pinning Duke in place. Duke froze, taking in Nathan with a strange look in his eyes._

_"I'm done counting," Nathan hissed, his rage bubbling over, and a gunshot rang out._

* * *

She woke screaming, sobbing hysterical screams as her body scrambled forward in a desperate bid to leave her bed as quickly as possible. She had to help her friends. One of them was hurt, one of them needed medical attention now or they were going to die. As she struggled to extricate herself from the sheets in her frenzy, she didn't hear the pounding on her door or of the sound of it being broken down. Her mind didn't have any time to process the sudden appearance of Nathan bursting into her apartment and sweeping her into his arms. He clutched her as if she was going to disappear on him, rocking her fiercely.

Once it had sunk in that it was Nathan holding her, Lola dissolved into sobs, her hands clutching the fabric of his shirt as her tears soaked his shoulder. "You're okay, you're okay," she repeated over and over, relieved that he was whole, relieved that he wasn't bleeding. "Oh god, you're okay."

"You're safe," he mumbled into her hair, still rocking her. "He can't get you here. You're safe."

They stayed like that for a long while, taking refuge in each other's arms as the panic and urgency leeched from their bodies. Eventually they separated and that's when Lola took in Nathan's disheveled appearance.

His hair was a mess, sticking up wildly. His jeans and shirt looked like they had been plucked straight from the hamper, wrinkled and messy, and his firearm dangled limply from its holster at his belt. He still looked a bit panicked as his eyes met hers and she was struck by the need to do something, anything, to erase it.

That's when clarity began to return to her, and suddenly it hit Lola that they were sitting here on her bed, both coming down from terrifying dreams that pressured the both of them to assure the safety of the other. Her stomach dropped, fear of another kind seeping into her veins.

"The photographer. Where is he now?" Nathan stared into her eyes, hands gripping her shoulders as he held her at arm's length. "Is he in jail? Has he been paroled? Does he know where you are now?"

It took a moment for Lola to process just was he was asking. Her eyes widened in horror when she realized just what memory of hers he'd seen in his dreams tonight. She swallowed hard, schooling her expression as best she could. "He... he's been in and out of jail since my... incident," she told him, the shaking in her voice not quite masked. "He violated his parole not too long ago and is currently serving a really long sentence. He's not a threat, Nathan. Not since I... I was a teenager."

"So that... that really was you," he said softly, his eyes closing briefly. "It's always been you in those dreams. All those things I've seen... they're pieces of your life." He opened them again, staring into hers again with a different expression entirely. It was wary, calculating. "You're Troubled, Lola. Why didn't I see it before?"

"I... I don't know." It ate at her that this was the way he had to find out about her affliction. That he would be so terrified about her safety that he would come running to her in the middle of the night and barrel his way into her apartment. And if one thing was clear, it was time to come clean.

His expression started out in complete disbelief that eventually grew into one that was guarded, cautious as she explained that he hadn't been the only one seeing things. She wasn't surprised given that some very personal things had been revealed to her, especially the extent of his feelings for Audrey. "...and tonight I saw when your partner was taken, just before your first date with her. How you tracked Duke down and accused him of being the one to take her." She took a deep shuddering breath. "Which one of you was shot?"

Nathan's lips curled in an ironic smile. "Duke, sort of. My bullet grazed him." The ironic smile fell away. "To this day Duke swears he had nothing to do with Audrey's disappearance. It took me five years to wonder if he was right. It took me ten years to decide that he was probably telling the truth. Even to this day he swears that he was framed, and I'm inclined to believe the same." He sighed. "Lola, we need to talk about this."

"I agree." Lola pulled herself away completely, sliding off the bed and motioned for him to follow her. He didn't make a move, instead his gaze traveled downward and a slight flush had overtaken his cheeks. She looked confused for a moment until she looked down and realized what the problem was.

She wasn't wearing any pants.

Cheeks flaming, she wordlessly went to her dresser and pulled out a pair of pajama pants. If her back wasn't turned she would have seen Nathan's gaze follow her and his blush deepen as he watched her walk away.

Once she was properly decent, she turned back. "Shall we?"

"I have a feeling this is going to take a while, why don't we put on some coffee?" Nathan suggested, rising from the bed.

Lola nodded, and Nathan settled himself on her couch while she worked in the kitchen. She was aware of him watching her every move, and the sad look she caught out of the corner of her eye perplexed her. Was it because she was Troubled? She felt guilty that she hadn't told him before now, but there hadn't been a good opportunity to do so. Plus, as she'd pointed out to Duke, she had no idea how he would react to such news.

She carried in two mugs and a plate of croissants balanced carefully on her arm and set both on the table, but held onto the mug that was Nathan's. She took a tentative sip and winced when the liquid hit her lips. "Give it a few more minutes," she told him, passing the mug over.

His expression was a mix of incredulous and wistful at the same time. "You... you know about my affliction," he said quietly, making no move to pick up the coffee in front of him.

Lola gave him a slow nod. "The first memory I ever saw was of Audrey kissing your cheek," she admitted. "Then I saw the one with the rose, in your truck. That was the only night I ever saw two memories in a row. Those came the night after our first meeting." She let out a small sigh, picking up her mug but didn't drink. "Duke confirmed it when I brought him in on the cat curse."

Nathan looked like he wasn't surprised at all upon hearing Duke's part in it. "Leave it to Duke to be loose lipped about that," he mumbled, shaking his head. "Did he mention he's cursed too?"

Lola looked at him in alarm as Nathan continued to explain. "When he absorbs the blood of a Troubled person, it gives him a burst of strength. Also, if he kills a Troubled person... it erases the Trouble from the family line. But aside from one accidental kill back during the last batch of Troubles, he swore he'd never use it."

She let out a breath she hadn't even known she'd been holding. For a few moments there she'd been imagining her landlord breaking in and killing her in her sleep in the middle of the night. "That's... that's good," she breathed, and finally took a swallow of her coffee. She watched him over the rim for a few moments and then decided to ask. "You looked so sad when I was in the kitchen... why?"

Nathan looked at her with considerable surprise. "You mean Duke never told you? This apartment... it was P-Parker's when she... she was in Haven." It was subtle but Lola didn't miss how he'd briefly stumbled over his absent partner's name.

"Oh," she said softly. "I'm... I'm sorry, Nathan. My very presence in Haven... it has to be painful for you."

Nathan hesitated and then nodded slowly, looking a little remorseful. "It's brought up a lot of things I've tried to bury over the years," he admitted. "Not that I regret you here, you've certainly made my life a lot more interesting since you came to town," and his lips twisted in a slightly wry smile, "But yes, there are a lot of ghosts being stirred up. Not that I should be surprised, it tends to happen during the Troubles."

Lola thought of the picture of her and Audrey as well as the recent memory of their abduction, but decided not to bring those up right away. "Sounds like it."

Nathan gave her a measuring glance just then, as if he were remembering something. Lola fought the urge to squirm under the scrutinizing gaze. "The Troubles are hereditary," he stated. "You inherited it from someone in your family... do you happen to know who?"

Lola shook her head. That was something she didn't know for sure, even though she had her suspicions. "No. I haven't a clue. All I know that I started seeing things around when I was nine, maybe ten, and then they abruptly stopped one day. Then a few months ago I started seeing things again, but this time it was almost directly focused on Haven. I decided it to check it out... and here I am."

"You said you wanted answers," Nathan continued. "Have you found anything you were looking for?"

Lola shook her head again. "Not really," she confessed. "I confirmed that our family does indeed come from Haven, but that was pretty obvious given that I'm afflicted. I called my grandmother after I got some information from the Haven Herald and found out that it comes through my paternal line."

"So your father could be Troubled after all," Nathan said musingly, something flashing in his eyes. Truth be told, it made her quite uncomfortable. She didn't want him figuring out that possible link before she could dig deeper into the how and why.

"Could be," she shrugged noncommittally. "I'm planning on looking into it. Maybe the family member that's afflicted could give me some guidance."

"Any more about your mother?" Nathan asked, leaning forward.

Lola blinked. "How did you—" and she stopped, pushed a hand through her tousled hair, taken off guard. "I've never said anything about my mother. Or that I was looking for anything on her."

"You talked about your father at length that first day," Nathan pointed out. "But you didn't mention your mother, not even once."

She let out a sigh. "I don't know anything about her," she confessed. "My father has never talked about her. There are no pictures of her, which made me think I was adopted for a long time. But when I was old enough, he showed me the DNA tests that proved I was his. My mother, though... it's like she doesn't even exist. I looked for birth records, public records, obituaries, even on social networking sites. Nothing. I didn't come from thin air, someone gave birth to me. But..." and here Lola hesitated.

"But?" Nathan prompted softly.

"I have this memory, at least I think it's a memory," Lola began hesitantly. "A baby in a basket, on a doorstep. And the strange thing is I've seen it from two different perspectives. One is looking down at the baby from the doorstep, the other is from a distance. One impression is of surprise, of sadness. The other is of... longing. Pain. Fear. But the one thing both have in common... is love. They both loved that child." She swallowed. "I... I think... that baby was me."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter summary:** _Nathan suffers a grave setback with The Eraser case and finds out the third target, Lola revisits the original question that brought her to Haven.  
_

**Notes: **Not quite as long as the last chapter... but no less important. ;)

The posting schedule is probably going to slow down from here, as subsequent chapters have insisted to be whoppers with a lot packed into each one. But those of you who have been hoping for some happy Nathan/Lola... your patience will be rewarded soon. :)

As always, your follows, faves, and reviews are vastly appreciated and squeed upon sight. :D

* * *

He didn't know what to think.

The sun was just peeking over the horizon as he drove home, his thoughts jumbled and confused. He'd learned so much in such a little space of time, and he wasn't sure what to do with any of it.

Lola was still essentially a stranger, an outsider. An outsider that he was now intimately connected with. He couldn't deny that he had strong feelings for her any longer. Their first kiss, the things he felt each and every time Lola had been endangered by her stalker, along with the trust they'd placed in one another were all contributions to the current situation. The fact that he'd gone rushing to her when she thought she was threatened again was rather telling in and of itself.

He was so torn, though. He still loved Audrey, and still held onto the hope that she would come back. It was a flimsy, irrational hope, one driven by pure emotion. He knew it and yet as hard as he tried, he couldn't shake it. She was out there somewhere. She wouldn't just disappear into thin air and leave things unfinished. That wasn't the Parker he knew.

But it felt like betraying his partner by giving into his feelings for Lola. It shook him deeply to know that this woman held such sway over him, carried pieces of him he hadn't realized he'd given away. As much as he wanted to get angry, feel violated by being exposed against his will, he found he couldn't. Lola wasn't the type to break trust. Yes, she'd kept things from him, but with good reason. She had been trying to spare his feelings, step delicately in a situation that had demanded it. He had to keep reminding himself that the things she did weren't done out of malice. She was the type of person that put the needs of others before her. And, he thought ruefully, didn't that smack of Parker as well.

Lord, was he tired. His old bones reminded him that he'd been shorted on sleep and experienced a lot of extreme emotion in a very short space of time as he dragged himself up the stairs leading up to his two bedroom cottage. He yawned as he unlocked the door, thoughts of his bed calling to him invitingly as he pushed it open.

And he walked straight into a mess.

He drew his weapon before he'd even realized it, dread cramping his insides as he cased each and every room of his house, footfalls soft and measured. When he'd determined that the place was indeed devoid of any others, he holstered it and started to assess the damage.

His place had been tossed, that much was obvious. But what would the intruder have been looking for? He didn't bring anything related to work home. At least, he tried not to. The only thing lately that he'd brought home had been his case notes on The Eraser and he—

_Shit._

He tore apart his house further looking for the file and came up empty handed. He swore again, kicking his couch in his anger. The damn thing had been taken and those were the only copies. He should have known better, should have known to make copies but in his paranoia he didn't want anything about the case leaking. His caution had cost him dearly. He'd have to try to recreate those notes from memory.

The problem was, his memory had unexplained, gaping holes. Crucial details had escaped him, like the cause of death. Names of the victims. All he really remembered was one had died and another one was to follow. There were photos. Notes. He struggled to remember more, but that's all that resurfaced.

He now was at a distinct disadvantage. He'd have to grill the officers and detectives that had worked both scenes, try to reconstruct the case file from their statements. The problem with that was things were going to be inaccurate, but that's all he had to go off of.

He dropped on the couch and buried his head in his hands. He was tired, stressed. He had so much on his plate and a lot couldn't be delegated. He didn't have the luxury of sleep. He had to go into the office, start working on putting this case back together.

But before any of that could happen, he really, really needed coffee.

* * *

After Nathan left, Lola dragged herself back to bed, completely exhausted by the events that had transpired that night. She fell back into a thankfully dreamless sleep, waking sometime in late mid-morning. Much as she had went to bed the night before, she found herself staring at the ceiling again, but this time her mind was a maelstrom of thoughts.

What did this mean between her and Nathan now? He'd been laid bare to her as intimately as she had him and if she was feeling exposed by the knowledge; she couldn't fathom how he was feeling. It wouldn't be farfetched to surmise he probably resented her heavily, felt deeply betrayed that she hadn't come clean sooner. She couldn't forget the look in his eyes when she told him if she tried.

He'd looked at her like she was a threat and it cut deeply.

She felt a little dirty for not showing him her entire hand, to not tell him about the flashback of her and Audrey in captivity or the one before that. But if she was being honest with herself, she felt that it wasn't time to share those yet. She was still figuring out where those fit in the grand scheme of things, how _she_ fit into the grand scheme of things.

According to that flashback, she apparently possessed the knowledge to end the Troubles forever, or at least that had been the case when she was a child. Since she didn't possess a majority of her memories from her last stay, she highly doubted that she still had that knowledge now. But if she didn't, why would her father and the mysterious messenger warn her away from Haven? It didn't make sense.

And then there was Audrey. She was the one helping the Troubled; wouldn't she have wanted the knowledge for herself? Instead she left that knowledge locked inside her for reasons unknown. She'd put her own life on the line just to make sure it stayed buried.

She felt like she was playing a game where she didn't know all the rules and it was more than a little scary. She agreed with her past captor, however. It was indeed a heavy burden to place on a little girl, and it felt just as heavy on her adult self as it probably did twenty years prior.

The rumble of her stomach interrupted her thoughts, and she reluctantly pulled herself from bed to take care of that. She had a lot of questions that still needed answering, but life spun on. She couldn't think on an empty stomach.

There were only a few bites of her breakfast left on her plate when a sudden, loud pounding at the door made her jump. Pushing back from the table, she hurried over to open it, only to be greeted by an empty landing.

What on earth? Could this day get any stranger?

As she was closing the door, a small bouquet of pink carnations and an envelope lying in front of the threshold caught her eye and she bent to pick the items up. She looked cautiously out of her door for prying eyes, carefully and slowly closing it when she found none.

Stepping back, she cautiously tore into the envelope and found a single sheet of paper, folded into thirds. The handwriting was unfamiliar, blocky and heavy handed.

_Pay your respects to your roots._

Well, that wasn't cryptic at all, was it?

* * *

Five long, frustrating hours later, Nathan had what he thought was a replacement case file but it was very obvious that it wasn't nearly as comprehensive as the original. His detectives had done the best they could under the circumstances and he couldn't fault them for that. They had been just as angry at the loss of the data but thankfully didn't fault their boss for it.

Despite needing to focus on the material in front of him, his thoughts inevitably wandered back to Lola. These days she was everywhere, a constant presence in his consciousness. He was still reeling from the revelations of this morning, struggling to comprehend the gravity of it all. When presented with the evidence he had had every reason to push her away, protect him from being compromised further. He was no Audrey, but he would have needed to find a way to neutralize her Trouble. Given the unpredictable nature of it, she could have seen anything from anyone and ended up endangering them or herself. That said, he wished she'd gone into greater detail about exactly what she'd seen as a child. She'd been curiously evasive, glossing over it. In hindsight, he should have pressed harder for specifics.

That raised another question, however: how, exactly, had she seen things about Haven if she'd never set foot here? His best guess was from family members if they had ever visited the area. But, she hadn't been able to confirm or deny that her father was Troubled. Everything pointed to it, as Troubles didn't skip generations as far as he knew. He had to admit, though, that Lola's cluelessness about where her Trouble came off as genuine. But something, somewhere, wasn't adding up. There was also the unknown element of her mother, as she could have been a Haven resident herself, but that was a long shot.

He didn't have enough information to construct a plausible theory about the situation and that bothered him more than he cared to admit.

His phone rang, jarring him from his thoughts. "Wuornos."

"He's struck again," the detective on the other end informed him. "The teacher, boss. The body is outside McMahon. Should we evacuate?"

Nathan struggled to remember until that particular tidbit of information came back with a crash. The teacher. She was connected with The Eraser case. Goddamn it. "No. We need them on lockdown. No one in or out. Clear the surrounding area; get statements from the ones who found the body. I want that scene secure as possible. This guy has an in somewhere and we need to plug the hole. I'm en route."

He resisted the urge to slam down the phone. Two people dead, the third now under the crosshairs. He was almost afraid to see who it would be.

Twenty minutes later found him with the third photo in hand, dread coiling deep within him. This had to be a sick joke the universe was playing. First Audrey, now Duke? What the hell did Duke have to do with a barista and a teacher? It made no sense.

"Finish up here," he commanded the detective who initially called him. "I have a stop I need to make."

He couldn't waste any time. Duke needed to know, now. The quicker he moved on this, the better.

* * *

"Duke?" he called out, stepping onto the deck of the _Cape Rouge_ a short time later. "Duke, you here?" He hoped the hell he was. The last thing he needed was for Duke to be nabbed before he'd even had a chance to get him under cover.

"Hey, if it isn't my favorite cop," Duke called out, wandering out of the cabin with a beer in hand. "Can I getcha something, Chief? Or is this not a social call?"

"Afraid not," Nathan answered, face set. Duke was not going to take this well, he knew. He wouldn't be surprised if he rejected this outright.

Duke raised an eyebrow at the flat expression. "So what's up?" he said, walking up to Nathan, taking a swig of his beer.

Nathan reached into his jacket and pulled out the sealed photo, passing it over to Duke. The other man flicked his eyes up in confusion to Nathan then turned his attention to the photo. He watched as Duke's expression turned from confusion to alarm, and then finally settling on disbelief.

"What the hell is this?" Duke asked, looking back up at Nathan. "Who took this photo?"

"A serial killer known only as The Eraser," Nathan answered him, hooking his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans to mask how unsettled he was. "He's already killed two people; a barista and an elementary school teacher." Thank god for the reconstructed file. "You're the third target, the fourth and final is unknown."

"Lucky me," Duke mumbled. "What do I have in common with these people?" he asked, returning the photo to Nathan.

"We haven't determined that," Nathan admitted.

Duke scoffed disgustedly. "Of course you haven't," and he made an irritated motion with his drink toward the photo. "'Two for two, the hourglass is halfway through'? Who the hell writes this kind of shit?"

Nathan shook his head. "I don't know. Someone already stole the case file once and thanks to that, we're now at a serious disadvantage. That's why it's important to make sure you're secured. I'm putting an officer on you around the clock. This guy will be stopped before he gets to you."

"I should have known that demanding police protection way back when was going to bite me in the ass someday," Duke grumbled. "I hate cops but I don't wanna end up dead, either. But if I take down this guy before you do, I want you to promise me I'm not gonna end up in jail."

"You know I can't do that, Duke. Stick close and stay in contact," Nathan advised.

After leaving Duke's, he returned to the station, a mountain of paperwork waiting for him. Rubbing the back of his head thoughtfully as he walked into his office, he didn't spot it right away. But when he did, his heart stopped.

On the back of the chair at Audrey's old desk was something he'd recognize anywhere: Audrey's favorite coat. And on the desk was a cooling cup of coffee with a stack of papers next to it, the entire scene looking as if she'd stepped out just for a minute. Nathan's heart contracted in his chest and he felt like he couldn't breathe, taking several steps back in his shock.

Was she back? His heart dared to hope, but his mind was suspicious. Why would she just show back up and not show her face first? It had to be a setup. There was no other explanation for it.

But deep down, he hoped it was real.

* * *

The call to her grandmother to get a list of ancestors that once lived in Haven felt like ages ago. So much had happened since she had first arrived that she didn't even feel like the same woman. But the conversation she'd had with Nathan had shaken that loose; reminded her of what had brought her here. The note had provided the push, to resume the search to find out who and what she was.

A quick consultation with Duke pointed her in the right direction, to a cemetery that was a short drive from her apartment. It took some time to find what she was looking for, a cluster of graves near a tall tree, some old and weathered and others obviously newer, all of them inscribed with the surname Kelly.

"I don't know why I'm here," Lola confessed, kneeling in front of a grave and setting the bouquet of carnations in front of the headstone. The inscription read Moyra Kelly, 1909-1982. "You're my great-great-grandmother, that's all I know. But you were Troubled too, weren't you? Since I don't know who my mother is... it has to come from my dad. He's Troubled, and he never planned on telling me."

She felt silly talking to a grave, but it also felt freeing to just talk out loud about what was going on in her head. "How can I pay my respects if I don't know where I come from?" she asked the air, hand moving absently over the grass. "I was a baby left in a basket on a doorstep, or at least I think I was. I could have come from anywhere if my dad hadn't proved I was actually his daughter. All I have is a name for the woman who supposedly gave birth to me... and I'm starting to suspect that's a lie too."

She toyed with a few blades of grass, admiring the flowers. She'd always had a fondness for pink carnations and she didn't know why. "Why all the lies? I'm old enough to understand what's going on now. Why won't he tell me what connects me to Audrey?"

"Because to this day, he still doesn't know who we're up against."

Lola startled, stumbling to her feet with a hand pressed to her wildly beating heart. "Who—" and she gasped, taking in the face. "You. You were there, at the barn. And you were the one who warned me to leave."

The man nodded, his weathered face sober. He stuck his hands in his pockets, adopting a casual, nonthreatening stance and Lola relaxed if only incrementally. "I was, and I did. I see you didn't listen. Just like your dad. Stubborn guy, hell of a temper."

A corner of Lola's mouth turned up. "That's my dad, definitely. Who are you?"

"Name's Dwight. I clean things up." He motioned to the ground before sitting down and making himself comfortable.

"Literally, it seems," Lola noted, her expression still a bit wary as she sat back down, but facing away from the grave. "No sense in introducing me, you already know who I am. And why I'm here."

Dwight nodded. "Bit of a surprise when you and your dad showed up back then. Audrey sort of took the two of you under her wing, threw herself into helping the two of you find answers to your questions. She had to ask me more than once to cover for her so Nathan wouldn't get suspicious. She didn't want him knowing what was going on and it was a good thing too. There were a lot of things that came to light that were better kept quiet."

Lola blinked. She hadn't expected him to be so forthcoming with information, or to actually dive into the backstory of what brought her to Haven; she had been expected to be stonewalled considering what role he had played. But she was grateful that someone was finally willing to discuss this freely. "Like what?"

He gave her a look. "There's a lot I can't tell you or it'll put you in even more danger than you already are. But I can tell you that while you were here, Audrey discovered something big that changed everything, made her even more desperate to ensure your wellbeing. Whoever was after her was after you too. The two of you shared something important and if it fell into the wrong hands, it could have meant disaster for the Troubled."

"I knew how to end them for good," Lola said simply. "How or why, I don't possess the knowledge anymore. But whoever captured us was aware I knew."

To his credit, Dwight didn't react how she thought he would. Just a slow blink. "All the more reason you should leave. I meant what I said earlier. She would want you safe." He paused, as if he was hesitating about speaking his mind. "Your parents cared about you, Lola. They tried their best to shield you, and you're lucky you made it out alive last time. Nathan and Duke may not be enough this time."

Lola went still. "What do you mean my parents?" she asked, her voice going unsteady. "I only have a father. My mother is a ghost. She's just a name on my birth certificate. Whoever gave birth to me doesn't want to be found."

"Not true," Dwight said gently. "It wasn't that simple. Look, I shouldn't even be telling you this, but you deserve to know." He rested his forearms on his thighs, leaning forward slightly. "You were born in the in between. We don't know how or why that's possible. We have our theories, but none have ever been proven. We don't know your origins or your purpose. All we know is that you possess her abilities as well as a Trouble. You're a bridge between two worlds."

Lola stared into Dwight's eyes, comprehension dawning. "So you're saying...?"

And Dwight nodded.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary: **_The 36 hours of hell continues. A case comes to a terrifying close, another secret is outed, and passions spill over._

**Notes: **If FFnet had a rating for smut, this chapter would need it.

Yep, you guessed it. ;) Hope you guys enjoy.

This is probably going to be the last update for a while, I had to cut and rewrite most of Chapter 13 and thanks to that I have an extreme case of writer's block and haven't even started on Chapter 14. Add the holidays in there and it'll probably be closer to the new year before another chapter will be out. Not planning on stopping entirely in the meantime, so I might surprise you all with a chapter before then if things end up going really well. But, no promises. So please, hang in there, I'm not going to leave my readers hanging forever.

As always, your follows, faves, and reviews are vastly appreciated and squeed upon sight. :D

* * *

Lola couldn't recall a day in recent memory where so many monumental events had happened, one right after the other. Despite having made up the sleep she had been shorted earlier in the day, she was exhausted both physically and mentally and stretched to her very limit. She rubbed her eyes after plopping herself down in the driver's seat of her car, willing her body for just enough energy to make it home. A nap sounded like a good idea not only because it would refresh her, it would also give her a break from her churning, tempestuous thoughts.

Her focus was completely on her bed and the nice fluffy pillows that were waiting for her once she was home, clomping up the stairs heavily. It almost didn't register once she was on the landing with keys ready in hand thanks to her mental fog, but when it did the sight of her door cracked open sent a shot of adrenaline lancing sharp and shocking through her body.

Dread felt like a lead weight on her chest, and it was with much difficulty she gingerly pushed open the door to peek inside. The inside looked relatively untouched, but there was a strange, coppery smell she couldn't put her finger on lingering in the air. Pushing the door open farther, her eyes were greeted with a sight she wouldn't forget for many nights to come.

Her Jefe, her sweet Jefe, was lying in the middle of her living room floor in a pool of his own blood, his throat cut.

* * *

Nathan responded to the call himself, not trusting any of his other officers to be able to properly console the traumatized woman. Lola was beside herself, her face paler than he'd ever seen it, completely mute other than the few shaky, choppy statements she'd been able to issue about the incident.

He was very worried about her. So much mental and emotional distress packed into one day could bring down even the strongest person. Given the fact that Lola wasn't exactly on stable emotional ground as of late, he was afraid she was near her breaking point.

"It's obviously not safe for you to stay here anymore," Nathan told her after the scene had been swept and recorded. "I want you to go inside and pack a bag. You're staying with me."

"Nathan, no," Lola protested, her voice weak. "I can go to one of the bed and breakfasts. Or stay with Duke, he offered."

"They can't watch over you like I can," he argued gently, reaching out to tilt her face up to meet his eyes. Like hell was he going to allow Duke to watch over her. Lola's landlord or not, this was police business. She needed the protection only the law could give her, not Duke's brand of vigilante justice. This kid was influenced by a Trouble and who knew what lengths it would drive him to in his quest to get his hands on Lola. "Lola. Just trust me."

Lola bit her lip, and the look on her face broke his heart. He wanted to do anything he could to erase it. He wanted to be there all night to care for her, to soothe any fears she might have. He wanted to be her protector. "O-Okay. I trust you, Nathan."

Just that simple statement made his heart lift despite the grim circumstances of the situation. "Okay. I'll go in with you; I'll be right there. I won't leave you alone. Promise." He reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, ducking his head to look closer into her eyes. He could get lost in their endless dark depths. His gaze flickered down to her lips, wet and pink and oh so full. He found himself licking his lips and starting to lean in closer when abruptly he realized what he was doing. His hand had lingered near her face, almost cupping her cheek, and he was standing a little too close to be simply friendly.

He took a quick step back and Lola blinked, blushing when she realized what had almost happened. "Y-Yeah. I'd... I'd appreciate that," she stammered, eyes meeting his shyly before quickly looking away. She walked towards the open door of her apartment and Nathan was quick to follow, putting himself between her and the large bloodstain on the floor as he steered her around and away from it.

Once she was packed, he took the suitcase from her despite her protests. "We're going in my truck," he told her, guiding her out with a hand on the small of her back. She started to protest again and he merely gave her a look, which was enough to still them. "I know. But he might be tracking your vehicle and we don't want him getting wind of where you've went. I'll have one of my officers move your car to someplace safe in the meantime."

He helped her into the truck; flicking a glance over at her once he'd started the engine. A little of her color was back, which was good, but she still looked so withdrawn, almost pitiful. "Hey," he said softly, reaching out to close his hand around hers. Lola looked at him in surprise. "It'll be okay. I'm here for you."

Night was falling when they pulled up to his house and after helping Lola out of the truck and carrying her bag in for her, he showed her into the small living room. "Make yourself comfortable," he told her. "I'm going to order in dinner. Chinese okay?"

"It's fine," she told him softly. "Nathan, you really don't need to go to all this trouble."

"You need someone right now," he told her. "Someone to look out for you. Let me be that someone. Lean on me, that's what I'm here for."

Lola's answer was a quiet, grateful smile.

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair, with Nathan putting on a movie – which neither of them watched – to break the silence that had fallen during the meal. It was clear the both of them were tense, anxious, and unsure of what to make of the situation. That was quickly and uncomfortably brought to the forefront when Nathan tried to get Lola settled in his bed for the night.

"You're not putting me out, trust me," Nathan assured her. "I've slept on that couch before; it's not a big deal."

"But it's your bed," Lola protested. She knew that he was only trying to ease her discomfort, bring her a little security and a good night's rest. But it felt wrong depriving him of his bed. "I can't take your bed."

"Lola," he said firmly, "I insist. You need the rest. I need to be out in the living room anyway to keep an eye out." He crossed his arms and firmly stared her down.

She let out a breath, pushing a hand through her hair. He wasn't going to back down and one of them needed to relent or they'd be standing here all night. "Fine. But tomorrow night I'm taking the couch."

Before he could protest she was walking out to the living room to retrieve her things and came back to Nathan digging out sleepwear from his dresser. Glancing at her as he passed by, he exited the room, more than likely to the bathroom.

Lola flopped down on the edge of the bed and allowed herself a moment to let her walls down, burying her face in her hands. Overwhelmed would be an understatement currently. She was extremely grateful to Nathan for letting her stay with him, given that she would have indeed fled to a hotel, but at the same time she didn't know how she was going to share the same space with him. Given what almost happened between them earlier, it was clear that there was an undercurrent of something between them.

Oh, did she ever want to give in. She longed to get closer to him, show him what she was feeling. The problem was she didn't know if it would be the right thing to do. The ghost of Audrey hung over everything, influencing their every move. She would bet money that if anything was holding Nathan back, it would be his lingering feelings and allegiance to his absent partner.

And she couldn't blame him. Their bond had been a powerful one from all the memories she'd seen. Along that same vein, she was pretty sure that some of the things she'd seen that hadn't been from Nathan's perspective had been Audrey's memories. She wouldn't be surprised if the specific dreams that inspired her to come to Haven had originated from her mother.

She still hadn't come to terms with that. Audrey Parker – or at the very least the body that had housed her various incarnations – had conceived her. Birthed her. Which brought up another interesting thought – how had her dad managed to pass along his, um, genetic material to make that happen? Various ideas flew around inside her head and all of them grossed her out.

What did that make her, though? Dwight said they didn't know her purpose. Well, she had a few theories of her own on that. If what she guessed was indeed true, they would need a backup. Was she that backup? But that wouldn't make sense given they had bred her with a Trouble as well. Wouldn't have made more sense to either make a new Audrey or one that was, well, unTroubled? It seemed simpler and less convoluted than starting a new generation that was mixed with the very thing she was meant to eradicate.

She flopped onto her back and stared at the ceiling. So many questions, not enough answers. Boy, sleep was going to be so hard to come by tonight.

* * *

Nathan was having a hard time settling down that night.

He couldn't get his mind to shut up. It was completely focused on the girl that was in his bedroom. In his bed. That could be twisted into something very dirty, he surmised, and allowed himself a quiet chuckle over it.

It had never escaped his notice that Lola was indeed a beautiful woman. From the moment he had laid eyes on her, he had been attracted. Never mind the fact he could feel her, which was just a bonus. If anything it had increased his attraction. Beautiful girl whose touch sent sparks racing along his nerves at the slightest touch? Yes please.

But just like Audrey, she'd come with her own baggage, her own problems. Trying to figure out who she was. What her purpose was, why she was connected to Haven. On the surface, she had run nearly perfectly parallel to Audrey's mission, right down to helping the Troubled. That right there should have made him eschew getting involved. Just by being herself, however, she'd drawn him in and gained his trust. She'd never abused that trust, either. She'd always been careful, considerate of his feelings. Maybe not as open with things as he'd like for her to be, but considering all that had happened, he would have done the same thing in her shoes as well.

He rolled over onto his back and stared unseeing toward the ceiling. With the little surprise he'd seen at his office today, he was more conflicted than ever. If Audrey was back, he didn't want to automatically push her away. But, he had to admit, Lola held more sway over him now. It was only a matter of time before his control snapped and his feelings spilled over where she could see them.

If he was being completely honest with himself, part of him wanted to go crawl into bed next to her and pull her into his arms. He was shamelessly addicted to her touch and the thought of having that much of her to feel was a temptation he almost couldn't resist. It affected him so much that even in the dark, he noticed the telltale tenting of his blanket. It wasn't the first time his body had responded to the idea of having her that close but this reaction had certainly been one of the strongest. He blamed it on the fact that she was wrapped up in his sheets, imprinting her scent on his pillows. He let out a soft whimper at the mental image.

Oh dear god. He was never going to sleep if his mind kept going down this path.

If he could feel, he would probably be burning up, the ache between his legs unbearable. If he were any other man – a normal man, that is – he might have been tempted to slide his hand under the blankets and take care of business. But the only antidote to his needs lie in his bedroom, and after all she'd gone through today he'd be a terrible person if he even thought of possibly taking advantage of her. Even if it were welcomed, he'd feel guilty.

Despite his tumultuous thoughts, it was only a matter of time before his exhaustion overcame the desires of his body. With thoughts of Lola's lush body and full lips he slipped off into slumber.

* * *

The sound of a scuffle and a scream coming from down the hall snapped him awake, and he was on his feet with his piece in hand and running towards it before his mind caught up with what was going on. Bursting through the door to his bedroom, his heart sank in his chest as his worst fears were confirmed.

"Come any closer and she'll suffer," Shawn growled, his gaze deranged as he held Lola tight against his body, a pistol aimed at her temple. "You don't want to see this beautiful goddess's brains blown out, do you? Put down the gun."

Lola was white with fear, the look in her eyes begging him to do something, anything to get her out of the situation. It took everything Nathan had to keep his weapon in his hand, to not give in just to erase the look in her eyes. Hundreds of standoffs over the years had taught him that the tried and the true was the way to go. But he did lower it, pointed it at Shawn's feet to lessen the immediate threat. "We don't want that," he agreed, making sure to speak in a calm and even tone. He had to remember the kid was influenced by a Trouble and therefore may not be receptive to typical measures. But, he had to try. "Let's talk this out instead. You're pretty angry that Lola's been ignoring you, right? Why don't you find what went wrong?"

The entire time he was speaking, his mind was trying to figure out how he could possibly get a shot off before the kid even realized what was happening. He risked hitting Lola in that plan, however. But it was a risk he needed to take to neutralize the situation in the safest way possible if talking him down failed. In either case, there was no way Shawn was going to let her go without trying to gain the upper hand first.

"Why should I? She never appreciated me," Shawn spat, pressing the gun harder into Lola's head, a soft sob escaping from her. "Showered her with gifts, attention, professed my love for her... and for what? So she could treat me like garbage! Just like all the other women. I was completely devoted and it meant nothing."

"I'm sorry," Lola whispered, catching on to the tone Nathan had set. "I never meant to hurt your feelings. I was just scared."

"You had no reason to be scared!" Shawn shouted. "I love you. I was trying to get it through your head that we were meant to be together. Why couldn't you see that? Why won't you give me a chance?"

Lola glanced over to Nathan and he tried to tell her with his eyes, keep talking. She bit her lip before jumping in. "Maybe... maybe we can try?" she offered pitifully, and Nathan winced at the lack of conviction or even sincerity in her voice.

That was exactly the wrong thing for her to say. Shawn threw her to the ground with a sob, aiming his gun at her. "You're lying! I don't believe you!"

It took less than a split second for Nathan to aim and fire, loosing two bullets. They hit Shawn dead in his center mass, ripping through his body with deadly precision. He stumbled and hit the floor, falling onto one side with a strangled cry.

Lola screamed piercingly, curling into the smallest ball possible. Rushing over to Shawn, he assessed the damage. It was brutal, but it was possible he could survive. Despite the things he had done to Lola, Nathan felt a brief pang of sympathy for the kid. Being influenced by the Trouble had nearly – and could possibly still – cost him his life.

"Call 911," Nathan barked at Lola, unable to do what he wanted to do – soothe her until the panic and fear left her eyes. She nodded and crawled up the bed to her phone sitting on the nightstand, dialing with fumbling, shaking fingers.

Shawn coughed up blood, the predatory, dangerous glint in his eyes fading. "What... what the hell," he mumbled weakly, flicking his eyes up towards Nathan's face. "Why... I'm shot."

"Stay still," Nathan commanded him, doing what he could to stem the bleeding. "What's their ETA?" he asked Lola.

"Ten minutes," she told him, still on the phone with emergency services. "I told them the situation and they're sending backup." Her eyes were still wide and scared and she was shaking so hard he thought the phone was going to fly out of her hand any second. He had to give her credit, though, she held up well in a crisis.

"Good," Nathan said curtly, turning his attention back to Shawn's injuries.

"Lola?" Shawn called out weakly, struggling to pick his head up to look at Lola. "Lola, are you okay? What happened?"

Nathan noticed that Lola stilled at Shawn expressing his concern. "I'm... I'm okay," she told him, the hesitation and residual fear in her voice making it shake audibly. "I'm... unhurt."

"What happened?" Shawn sounded panicked.

"You were affected by a Trouble," Nathan told the boy, wishing he'd wouldn't talk as much. He was going to aggravate his injuries if he kept it up. "The restaurant where you met Lola, the bartender was Troubled. He amplified existing romantic feelings, usually with negative effects. I had to shoot you because you threatened Lola's life. It succeeded in snapping you out of it."

"Oh god," and Shawn let out a broken, horrified sob. "I'm sorry, Lola. I'm so sorry for hurting you. I know you won't forgive me but I'm sorry."

"I know," Lola said softly, reaching out to put a hand on Shawn's leg. "Don't talk. Help will be here soon."

Within minutes the paramedics arrived, followed by the police. Shawn was whisked away on a stretcher and Nathan and the additional officers started the tedious task of cataloguing and securing the scene, which included getting a statement from Lola. When the officers were finished, Nathan turned to her.

"I should be going in to finish the paperwork on this, but I'm putting it off till morning," he told her. "I'm going to pack a bag myself and we're going to a hotel. We can't stay here; this is now a crime scene. I'm sorry this happened, but I'm glad I was able to keep you safe."

"I understand," Lola said softly. "I'm glad you were too."

"Stay here," he said just as softly, reaching out to cup her cheek and fighting the urge to brush his lips over her forehead. "I won't be long."

* * *

Once in his bedroom, Nathan finally let himself breathe. That had been entirely too close for comfort. If it hadn't been for Shawn throwing Lola away from him, she might have been hit when he took the shot. He was incredibly relieved and glad that hadn't come to pass.

He threw an extra change of clothes and basic toiletries in a bag and returned to Lola, guiding her out to the truck. He drove them to the best hotel he could think of, parking in front of the office. Once he'd killed the ignition, he turned to Lola.

"Would you be more comfortable with your own room?" he asked, going for accommodating. He'd give her the space if she needed, but he'd insist on adjacent rooms. After the events of that night, he was going to watch her like a hawk.

"If it's okay with you, I'd like to be in the same room," Lola told him shyly. "I'd... I'd feel safer that way."

He gave her a small, reassuring smile, butterflies taking flight in his stomach. "We can do that. Wait here, I'll be right back."

As it turned out, all the rooms that had two double beds were taken, so the only choice they had was a king. He tried not to think too much on it, simply paid for the room and headed back out to the truck to retrieve Lola.

"One bed," he told her, navigating the hallways to get to their room. "I... I hope that's not an issue."

"At this point, I think I'm just grateful for a place to sleep," Lola told him with a weary smile. Nathan couldn't argue with that stance a single bit, as he had had the very same thought.

Once in the room, Nathan motioned toward the bathroom. "Ladies first," he said with a slight smirk, going for playful. But to his surprise, Lola dropped her bag at the foot of the bed and stepped into his personal space.

"I don't know what I would have done without you," she said softly, looking up at him. "If you hadn't been there..." and her eyes filled with tears, looking down when her countenance failed. Slightly alarmed, Nathan didn't hesitate to draw her into his arms.

"Shhh, it's okay," he said soothingly, rubbing his hands up and down her back and resting his chin lightly on her head. He couldn't feel anything through her shirt but the memory of her touch was taunting him, compelling him to find a bare bit of skin to brush up against.

But fate, it seemed, had its own ideas.

Lola's arms went around him and as they slid up his back, they lifted the hem of his shirt and her palms brushed against bare skin. He couldn't have suppressed the shiver that shot up his spine at the contact nor the slight gasp that accompanied it if he'd wanted.

As soon as he reacted he knew the jig was up. Instantly Lola pulled away enough to look up at him, her eyes moon-wide with shock. "You felt that," she said in disbelief. "You... you can feel me." The unspoken 'like her' echoed in the quiet of the room and it sent a pang shooting through his heart.

Nathan swallowed but held her gaze. "Yes. I can. Known for a while."

Lola stared him down. "How long?"

"Ever since that first day you came to town," Nathan confessed with a small smile curling his lips despite himself. If were possible, Lola's eyes widened even further.

"When... when were you going to tell me?"

"When the right time presented itself," he said, and it was sort of the truth. Truth be told, he had sort of wanted to keep it to himself much as he had with Parker. He hadn't known what to think of it, what it possibly could have meant.

A glint entered Lola's eyes. "Then you can feel this too," she whispered, yanking him down gently and pressing her lips hard against his.

Unlike the last time she kissed him, this one he responded to with gusto. He pulled her firmly against him, hands coming up to cup her face, mouth devouring hers. Nothing about the kiss was gentle; it was a clash of lips, a release of hungry desires. It was sensual, needy, and explosive. It made shockwaves radiate through his body, every nerve scream for satiation. The scent of her surrounding him drove him wild, the taste of her kiss sweet on his tongue. God, he wanted her.

No, he didn't want her. He needed her.

She whimpered into his mouth and it sent a shudder racing through his body. It compelled him to break their kiss briefly to rid her of her shirt, to put his hands back on her body and slide them over her silky skin, to cup her breasts and roll his thumbs over her nipples. A groan rumbled in his throat, his eyes squeezing shut. She felt like heaven and hell rolled into one beautiful woman.

He nudged her head back to sprinkle kisses down her throat, to nip and taste the delicate flesh. Feeling her voice vibrate against his lips when she whimpered his name softly made an answering one tear from his own throat. It was music to his ears.

But he needed to feel more. He pulled back enough to toss his own shirt aside and replace her hands on his body. "Touch me too," he whispered.

And touch him she did. Her hands fluttered over his back, light caresses upward and firm presses downward. Fingertips glided down his sides, up to brush over his shoulders and run her nails gently down both arms. The sensations were like a sweet drug shooting through his veins, a high he craved more of. His control was straining hard at this point, much as he was sure his pants were. If this was going to go where he thought both of them wanted it to, then this was the time to broach it.

"If we're going to do this, we need to do it right," he murmured against her shoulder, hands pausing at her hips. He lifted his head just in time to see Lola open her eyes, glassy with lust. They flicked to the bed behind them, and then focused back on his face.

"Then let's do it right," she murmured in reply, a slight smile curving her lips.

That was all Nathan needed to hear. He scooped her up, laid her gently on the bed and stretched his body out next to hers. Capturing her lips again, he resumed kissing her briefly before easing into the next part.

His hands slid down to the waist of her pajama pants and paused, waiting for her permission. She whispered a soft 'yes' against his lips and the single word made his pulse leap. Gingerly he eased them down, over her legs and off. He discarded them over the side of the bed, the palms of both hands tingling recalling the smoothness of her legs.

He indulged himself in caressing them again, molding his hands to their contours. He lingered at her ankles, tracing circles over them with his thumbs before working his way back up, teasing fingertips up the insides of her thighs and making her gasp with delight.

Encouraged by the noises she made, his fingers drifted to the junction of her thighs, rubbing his fingers tentatively over the cotton of her bikini panties. The shaky, breathless moan that spilled from Lola's lips went right through him and heightened his arousal that much further. While he couldn't feel how damp they were, he could smell her; the slightly musky, sweet smell paired with the noises coming from her was making it very difficult indeed to keep his control.

Walking his fingers up to grip her panties, he flicked his eyes up to once again procure her permission. The amused look in her eyes told him everything, and he held her gaze with amusement and lust dancing his own while drawing them off and letting them join her pants. Once they were gone, he gently parted her thighs to open her to his gaze. He licked his lips as he took in the sight of Lola's womanhood, wet with her desire for him.

Reaching out, he slid a single fingertip up the slit, marveling at how easily it glided over the slick flesh and how it pulled a sharp, edgy moan from her. He slid a finger in, pleased by another one of those moans coming forth and the heat of her surrounding the digit. Quickly he added another, whimpering at how tight she was. Suddenly he was gripped by the need for his tongue to experience the same and he pulled his fingers from her body and shimmied down the bed, positioning himself between her legs. He dipped his head and took in the scent of her once more, closing his eyes and smiling blissfully before leaning in and letting the tip of his tongue take the same path as his finger.

He had to hold her hips down when she bucked up; keeping her in place so he could pleasure her consistently. He wanted to map every sensitive spot and stimulate her until she was screaming his name. The taste of her on his tongue was heady, tasting as good as it smelled. He whimpered, gripping her thighs and parting her legs further. Using two fingers he parted her, brushing his lips over her clitoris.

A loud moan tore from her throat and she reached down to take a fistful of his hair, clutching progressively tighter as he licked, sucked, and nibbled the damp, hot skin. By this time the need to have her was overwhelming and with one last kiss between her legs he crawled back up, gathering her up to kiss her hard and press his body against hers.

Lola took the hint and reached down to start pushing his sweatpants off his hips. Reluctantly Nathan broke himself away long enough to practically tear them off his body, impatient to feel the full length of her naked body molded to his. The reality was much better than the expectation when all that warm, soft skin enveloped him, his nerves burning with pure sensation.

Rolling her over onto her back, he hovered between her bent, parted legs, looking down at her lustfully. But that was the moment his mind decided to kick in and remind him of something very important. "I, uh... don't have anything," he admitted, looking sheepish. He hadn't expected things would take this turn, but he hated that they were so close and they were going to have to stop.

Lola looked confused until the meaning of his words sank in. "Neither do I," she replied, looking disappointed. She paused then added shyly, "I'm willing to risk it."

Nathan weighed it out in his mind briefly then came to a decision that made his stomach twist pleasantly. "Then we'll risk it," he told her, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips. "But we'll... we'll have to go slow. It's, ah... been awhile."

Lola simply nodded in understanding. Relieved they had cleared that hurdle, Nathan positioned himself, pressing lightly into her. The action made them moan in sync, with Lola tilting her hips as Nathan began to push inside, and in seconds Nathan was fully sheathed within her tight heat.

He growled, long and low, holding himself still. Too much friction at once and he'd spill over too soon. He wanted to enjoy every second, to draw the experience out as long as his body would let him. Lola seemed to be of the same mind, her body perfectly still as well. They stared into each other's eyes, breathing slow and measured. Time seemed to stop in that moment as their individual gazes bared their thoughts, their feelings. In that moment, he knew this was more than just physical pleasure. This ran very deep for the both of them.

When he thought he'd regained control he pulled his hips back and sank back slowly into her with a long moan, biting his lip as sparks burst deep in his belly. He repeated the action, just as slowly. On the third stroke Lola pressed her hips up as he came down, eliciting another round of soft cries from the both of them.

He propped himself up on his forearm so he could crush his lips to hers, adding the taste of her tongue into the mix as their hips moved together to a steady beat. He could feel the pleasure mounting, a tight coil burning low and strong inside him. It fed off of Lola's moans, the soft whimpers and catches of breath encouraging him to draw more from her. He slid his hands under her bottom and hitched her hips up, driving him deeper into her and ripping a strangled cry from her. He thrust hard again, gratified when she gasped out his name and dug her nails into his back.

He planned on pulling out, to minimize the risk as much as he possibly could. But he was so embroiled in finding new ways to make her cry out and writhe beneath him that his orgasm sneaked up on him.

Startled, he hastily attempted to pull out and failed, coming with a groan and a shudder while he was still halfway inside. Lola wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him back in, riding him from underneath with her head thrown back, breathlessly moaning his name over and over until she found her own release as well. He held himself there until he was sure she was finished, then pulled out and rolled over to rest on his side next to her.

They both lay there, panting, the only sound in the room for several minutes as they each came down.

"God," Lola whispered when it seemed she had finally found her voice. "That... that was..."

"Amazing," Nathan supplied, and they turned their heads to look at each other and offer a shy smile. It had been incredible. Transcendental even. He hadn't felt this close to anyone in a long time, and he couldn't help but bask in the feeling. He reached over to gather her close to him and Lola nestled herself willingly into his arms, sighing contentedly.

He would have fallen asleep just like that but their naked bodies exposed to the room made things rather chilly. Nathan blindly groped with one hand until he found the edge of the comforter, pulling it down and getting it tucked around the both of them. Finally comfortable, he pulled her close again and closed his eyes.

The next thing he knew, his phone was ringing shrilly, yanking him out of sleep violently. With a grumble and a hand palming the nightstand wildly, he nearly knocked the phone onto the floor. Fumbling it, he answered it with a sleepy, "Wuornos." Beside him, Lola stirred and shifted in her sleep with a soft whimper.

What he heard next snapped him to full awareness immediately, dread lodging hard and fast in his gut. "Stay put. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Reluctantly he carefully disengaged himself from Lola, who woke from the jostling. "Nathan?" she slurred, reaching for him again without opening her eyes.

"Go back to sleep," Nathan murmured, pressing a tender kiss to her lips. Her eyes fluttered but didn't open. "I'll be back soon."

With that he hurriedly dressed, grabbing badge and weapon. With one last longing look at the woman sleeping in the bed, he left their room.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary: **_An omission of facts is still a lie._

**Notes: **I'm terribly sorry this took so long to be posted. December was truly a hellish month for me and sadly Christmas had nothing to do with it. Things are only just calming down enough to get back to writing again.

Chapter 14 is coming very, very slowly so it might be another long wait while I kick at it. It's not wanting to gel and it's irking the hell outta me.

I do hope all of you who read my fic enjoys this (sadly overdue) update. As always, your follows, faves, and reviews are vastly appreciated and squeed upon sight. :D

* * *

"Your response time sucks," Duke told Nathan when he stepped onto the deck of the _Cape Rouge_. "What the hell took you so long?"

Nathan opened his mouth to answer and stopped short when he took in Duke's appearance. He looked like he'd lost a fight, purpling bruises marring his face. One eye was quickly swelling shut, his bottom lip split and bloody. "Who did you piss off this time, Duke?"

"I told you, your little friend came to visit," Duke said irritably, leaning back in his deck chair and wincing as he put an ice pack on his eye. "I'm lucky this is all I came away with. Bastard fought dirty. He had a gun on him but it seemed like he was trying not to resort to it. Used it initially to try to scare me into cooperating. Wasn't gonna happen." He shifted in his seat with another wince. "I managed to grab my own and put a bullet in him. That's when he ran off."

"So you're saying you got a possible ID on The Eraser," Nathan stated.

"Italian kid. Looked to be in his thirties? Black hair, brown eyes. Wiry son of a bitch, he was hiding some muscles on that frame of his. He also kept trying to go for my head, lay hands on it. Got frustrated the more I evaded." Duke paused. "He had the tattoo, Nathan."

That was the last thing Nathan was expecting to hear. "He's Troubled."

"Looks to be that way," Duke said, sounding less than thrilled. "So I'm guessing I'm the only guy to ever get on his bad side and live?"

"Sounds like it," Nathan agreed. "What happened to the police detail I gave you?"

Duke threw up the hand that wasn't holding the ice pack. "I don't know. Never saw him. Guy's probably dead if I had to take a guess."

Nathan sure as hell hoped that wasn't the case, because Frank was one of his best officers. "Did he say anything that tipped you off as to his motives?"

Duke slowly shook his head. "Wasn't much of a talker. Seemed to be more worried about the end result, if you know what I mean."

Unfortunately, Nathan did. "Think you could work with a sketch artist if I brought one in?"

Duke shrugged a shoulder with another wince. "Normally I'd say no, but given as this guy might come back and try to finish the job, I suppose I could bend my rules just this once. But don't get any big ideas, 'cause this is a one off. I got standards to uphold."

Classic Duke. "Yeah, I got it." He withheld the urge to fix him with an unimpressed, dour look, as he knew it would be lost on him. Some things never changed.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Nathan was trying to keep his mind off what he'd left to come here. She was probably still asleep, all that beautiful hair spread over the pillows and her warm, heavenly body wrapped up in the crisp sheets. And apparently he wasn't being as discreet with his thoughts as he thought, as Duke leaned back in his chair again and took him in with a long, measuring look.

"Somebody's mind is elsewhere," Duke said, but not unkindly. In fact, instead of being angry, he seemed to be intrigued; puckish even. "In fact, there's something... different about you. If I didn't know any better, I'd say our Chief got some last night." Duke's smile turned sly. "Did our favorite cop finally bed his lady love?"

Nathan gave him a dark look and cursed himself for being painfully obvious. "She's not my lady love," he said flatly, giving Duke a look that hopefully would quell any more questions.

But Duke wouldn't be shaken that easily. "Good as admitting it!" he practically crowed, slapping his knee and letting out a bitten-off curse. He pointed at Nathan, grinning knowingly. "I always knew you two would fall into bed together. You've been checking her out since the day she got here. Ah, ah—" and he held his hand up as if Nathan were going to interrupt him, though the man in question just continued to glower at him sourly, "—don't deny it. The tension was so thick between you two you could cut it with a knife and spread it on bread. It's good, real good, to see you get it out of your systems. Certainly more exciting than my news, nearly getting killed notwithstanding."

Nathan continued to stare at him dryly. "Are you done?"

Duke merely laughed. "Is this a rhetorical question? Because I could go all day. This is just too good."

"She was attacked last night," Nathan told Duke, hoping to derail this line of conversation. It had the effect he hoped, as the smug look was wiped off his face and replaced with a worried one. "Stalker broke into my place and had her at gunpoint. Came back to his senses after being shot. He was affected by the same Trouble that killed Isabella Cole, Ella and Reese."

"She okay?" Duke asked immediately, and barreled on before Nathan could get a word in edgewise. "Stupid question. You wouldn't have slept with her if she wasn't."

"She's a little shaken up, but otherwise unhurt," Nathan told him, ignoring the (unfortunately true) observation. "I'm keeping an eye on her until I think she's safe."

"Might as well have her move in with you, then," Duke said, and Nathan was about to bite his head off when abruptly he realized that Duke was looking at him with a serious, somber expression. "Think about it, Nathan. She's been digging up things on Audrey since she got here. Somebody's bound to have noticed by now. And this serial killer... you think this is a coincidence either? I'm not saying that she's connected, but it seems real suspicious he picked Haven to start doing his thing, yanno?"

He had to concede that Duke may have a point. But it still didn't have a clear-cut connection anywhere, not even to Lola. "I don't know."

Duke let out a sigh. "I'm not a cop, thank god, but I do care about Lola. Keep an eye on her, okay? For both of us."

Nathan gave Duke a mildly amused smile. "You're getting sentimental in your old age, Duke."

Duke let out a laugh that was completely mirthless. "Maybe I am, Nathan. Maybe I am."

* * *

Lola woke alone, blinking at her unfamiliar surroundings for a few moments before the events of the night previous came rushing back. Bunking at Nathan's after her puppy had been murdered. Shawn taking her at gunpoint and the aftermath, and then the rather passionate encounter with Nathan right in this bed. She lifted the sheets and took in her state of undress. Yep, there had definitely been sex last night, if the pleasant ache between her legs indicated.

She didn't have the luxury of thinking on it more than that, as the sound of the door opening sent Lola in a mad scramble for clothing, dashing into the bathroom with a squeak.

"Lola?" she heard Nathan call out, voice edged with worry. "Lola, are you here?"

"In the bathroom," she answered him, feeling foolish. He'd seen her naked last night, why the sudden need for modesty? Nevertheless, she dressed, quickly running a brush through her hair before exiting the bathroom. The relief was palpable in Nathan's eyes when he finally saw her. He was holding a white bag in one hand and a paperboard carrier with two coffees in the other.

"I brought breakfast," he told her, going to set the items on the table. Then he crossed the room, pulled her into his arms. "You scared me there for a moment," he murmured into her hair. "After everything that's happened..."

"I know," she said somewhere in the vicinity of his shoulder. "You don't have to say it. I know."

He pulled back just enough to tilt her chin up and drop a soft kiss to her lips. "I missed you," he admitted, forehead resting on hers. "I got called away to tend to Duke, but I couldn't stop thinking about you the entire time. Was worrying about you."

Lola's heart melted. "It was pretty lonely not waking up with you here," she admitted, sounding slightly self-conscious. This level of intimacy between them was a little new and scary, and she didn't know how much would be too much for either.

Nathan's arms tightened around her. "I wanted you to wake up in my arms," he whispered, then with one last squeeze he pulled away. "Let's get some food in us, shall we?"

He handed her a coffee and she gratefully took a sip, eyebrows flying into her hairline. "You remembered my coffee order," she murmured, more to herself than Nathan.

"Medium caramel macchiato with extra vanilla," Nathan said, the corners of his lips turning up. "Kind of unforgettable."

As they were eating, Lola decided to bring up something that had piqued her curiosity earlier. "What did Duke need that was important enough to drag you out of bed?" Nathan stiffened and she bit her lip, unaware she'd stumbled upon something sore. "I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"No, it's okay," he assured her. "It's connected to a case. He was targeted and thankfully he came out with only minor injuries."

"That's good," Lola smiled at him, and apparently the way she was smiling at him made something flare in his eyes. He scooted over next to her, cupping her cheek with one hand and started to lean in.

That, of course, was the exact moment her phone chose to ring.

The two of them jumped apart, Lola nearly losing her coffee in the process. She leaped to her feet, grabbing her phone and answering it after setting her coffee down on the nightstand. "Hello?"

"Lola?" her father said on the other end, and her eyes widened. Why on earth was he calling at this hour? He was normally at work by this time and nothing short of a true emergency would get him to take a personal phone call, much less make one. "It's your father."

"I gathered that much, Dad," Lola said, surprise still evident in her voice. Nathan raised an eyebrow, and Lola made an impatient wave of her hand. "What's the emergency? Did Abuelita Eileen get sick? Abuelo Diego, is he okay?"

"They're fine," her father assured her. "No, I'm in Bangor, and I need a ride from the airport. If you don't mind, cielita."

"I do mind," she said sharply, and alarm leaped into Nathan's eyes at the sudden change in her tone. "Why are you here? I already told you, nothing you can do can get me to come home. I'm staying in Haven. I'm happy here. I think I'm old enough to decide where I want to live by now, don't you think?"

"Don't start, Maribel," her father's tone was icy. "If I need to, I will take a cab, but I'd rather my daughter greet me. Unless it's honestly putting you out that much."

Lola sighed loudly. "Fine," she said, her voice clipped. "But I'm bringing someone with me. If you don't like it, tough. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"I'll be waiting," her father said simply and the line went dead.

"Everything okay?" Nathan asked, clearly concerned as Lola lowered the phone to her lap.

Lola shook her head, sincerely distressed as she clutched her cell tightly in her hands. "No. My father's in town. Apparently one too many times of telling him that I'm not coming back to Ohio means that he has to come to Maine to literally drag me bodily home." She ran a hand through her hair, sighing disgustedly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have volunteered you like that. I'll... I'll find a way to get my car and go pick him up myself."

"Hey," Nathan said gently, taking her by the shoulders. "It's okay. I don't mind. The last thing you need is to have to go through all of this alone. I meant it, what I said yesterday. I'm here for you. Someone for you to lean on." One of his hands reached up to caress her cheek. "Go get ready. Take your time, don't rush. We will get there when we get there."

Lola leaned in, pressed a kiss to his lips. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me, Lola," he said gently. "We're in this together."

* * *

If someone had asked Nathan forty-eight hours ago where he thought he'd be, the very last answer he would have given was driving to Bangor with Lola to retrieve her father. Admittedly, he was more than a little curious about the man. He didn't have much to go off of except the picture she'd painted of him: an overprotective, forceful man that wasn't above lying to get the results he wanted. With just that information alone, Nathan was already predisposed to dislike the man. He didn't like manipulation in any form, much less manipulating someone as good-hearted as Lola. She'd already been through so much; she certainly didn't need this added to her worries.

Besides, he'd had enough of deceitful, manipulative fathers for one lifetime.

He helped Lola slide from the cab of the truck, catching her lightly at her hips, his hands sliding up her sides. A slight flush bloomed over her cheeks with a smile tugging at her lips and it made him want to kiss her right there, but they were in public now. He didn't know who would be watching or if they were being followed, and the last thing they needed was someone cluing in to what was going on between them before either of them were ready to come out with it.

"This way," he said, putting a hand on the small of her back and guiding her toward the terminal. He didn't miss how she tensed with every step they took, her breathing speeding up with anxious anticipation. "Breathe," he said only loud enough for her to hear. She looked up at him with a tight smile as they stepped through the doors.

He knew the moment Lola had spotted her father because her posture immediately went rigid, her shoulders thrown back as if she were steeling herself for the worst. He dropped his hand from her reluctantly, deciding to play it safe and not broadcast the fact that he and Lola were involved. Fathers tended to be a little too in tune with things like that, he knew all too well from experience.

A smartly dressed Hispanic man approached them from across the terminal, and it took everything Nathan had inside of him to not react visibly when Lola's father's face came into sight.

He'd aged well in the twenty years since he'd last been in Haven, but he exuded the same intensity, the same air of focused purpose. This was the very same man who'd had no compunction about ripping memories from a little girl and replacing them with false ones, or going head to head with Parker about his daughter's fate. It had also been demonstrated that he genuinely cared about his daughter's wellbeing and happiness through other memories he'd seen, but they were currently overshadowed by the fact that his presence in Haven meant nothing good was going to come of this visit.

It was obvious he was a man on a mission. Nathan would bet his badge that there was no low he wouldn't stoop to rip Lola from Haven, and he would take her kicking and screaming if need be, just as she had predicted. It made his gut tighten with worry, with dread.

But there was a bigger issue at hand – Lola had bold-faced lied to him. She'd been lying to him the second she'd walked into Haven. Telling him she didn't know Audrey Parker, never letting on that she'd been in Haven before. What else had she kept from him? It made him sick, made him feel betrayed.

"Cielita," he greeted his daughter affectionately, but there was distance in the tone. Disapproving, chastising. A child out of line that would be put to rights if the parent had anything to say about it. To her credit, Lola didn't shrink back; she merely pierced her father with a flat, level gaze.

"Father," she said in that same clipped tone she'd used on the phone earlier, making no move to touch him. "Let me be the first to welcome you to Maine." She turned to Nathan, nodding her head towards him. "This is Nathan Wuornos, Chief of Haven's police department. Nathan, my father, Alejandro Velasquez."

"Please, it's Alex," Lola's father – Alex – corrected his daughter, extending his hand. Nathan took it carefully; unable to feel the other man's grip but he was pretty sure if he could it would be just short of painful. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Chief Wuornos."

"Likewise," he said gruffly, eyes briefly darting over to Lola. Her face was stony, devoid of expression. Knowing how expressive she could be made her current behavior all the more telling, especially since he'd been on the receiving end of that coldness at one point. The knot of worry turned into something much more sinister, spreading blackly through him.

"Shall we?" he said, masking his thoughts. Lola merely nodded, and once Alex had retrieved his luggage from the carousel, the three of them exited and started making their way back toward Haven.

Nobody said much on the ride back. He kept flicking glances over to Lola, who was stoic, never looking his way once. It was as if the night before or the intimacy shared this morning had never happened, and that hurt almost more than the fact that Lola had kept this very important knowledge from him. He'd laid himself bare and for what? For this woman to use him, to manipulate him. He'd let her get under his skin and he should have known better.

Once Alex was settled in the same hotel he and Lola had stayed in the previous night, Nathan offered to take Lola back to her apartment. He couldn't very well strand her, even though he didn't want to be anywhere near her right now. "The mess should be cleaned up by now, it should be safe to go back home."

"Thanks," Lola said woodenly, finally looking his way. The stoic look had melted away; in its place was the vulnerability from the night before. Despite his anger, his heart squeezed and for a moment he longed to reach out to her, to erase it.

As quickly as it came, the feeling fled. He threw a suspicious, measuring look at her that made her shrink back before putting the truck into gear and heading out.

They were almost back to the Grey Gull before the question that had been eating at him since the airport finally burst forth. "Why didn't you tell me you'd been here before?"

Lola startled visibly from where she'd been watching the scenery go by out the window. "What?" she asked dumbly, the tremor in her voice undisguised as she turned her head to look at him.

"Why didn't you tell me you'd been here before?" he repeated, his anger creeping into his tone. He needed to know; it was eating at him like a cancer. He'd given her his trust, opened his heart to her. She couldn't expect him to just be okay with her having violated both.

Lola wrapped her arms around herself, head bowing and staying tellingly mute.

He stopped the truck in front of the Grey Gull and as soon as it was safe, she leaped out of the cab and fled up the stairs to her apartment.

"Lola!" he yelled, leaping out and giving chase. "Lola, dammit, don't do this!"

He wasn't quick enough to catch her; she'd already yanked open the door and hurried inside. Trying the door, he found it locked tight. "Lola!" he hollered again. When she didn't answer, he slammed a fist against the jamb and swore.

He was done. If this was how Lola wanted things, if she wanted to run away and shut him out instead of doing the mature thing and talking this out, that was fine. He wasn't going to force her. What was the point? It would be a colossal waste of time, both his and hers.

Turning from the door, he headed back to his truck. She may not have been willing to provide answers, but he had more than a few ways of finding them himself.


End file.
